A Strategic Approach to Corporate

Communication

An analytic creating strategic alignment and

measuring results

Submission for the requirements of a Doctor of Professional Studies

University of Southern Queensland

Judith Marie Halter MPubRel USQ

2015

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ABSTRACT

At the beginning of 2009, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) senior

executive tasked its Corporate Communication and Public Relations Office to

conduct extensive stakeholder qualitative research to understand specific issues

that may potentially impact on the University’s reputation. The research findings

provided trending data of the key issues and concerns from staff and external

stakeholder groups. To address these perceptions, communication strategies were

developed to ensure that USQ was recognised as a thriving, contemporary

university, renowned for its connectedness with internal and external stakeholders.

Given the diversity of each stakeholder group, this high-level communication

approach included individual strategies and messages to engage, inform and

interact with the communities in which the University operated. Recommendations

were demonstrated to the senior executive but an accurate measure to show the

effectiveness of resourcing these initiatives proved difficult.

Senior university executives are accountable for their decisions when dealing with

public money but how do communication professionals provide a quantitative

measure and metric when the area of expertise is defining and responding to

subjective stakeholder perceptions? This case study signalled interesting

opportunities and directions to investigate the appropriate alignment,

measurement and value in incorporating community opinion in decision-making

and identifying future strategic directions.

I reflected on a concept of using a recognised risk management scale to measure

the impact of various stakeholder perceptions on a university’s reputation and

contacted a risk-management company in Sydney which saw merit in this idea. We

worked together to develop a computer database system which evaluated the

benefits of initiating communication actions in response to known stakeholder

issues and concerns.

The future development and modification of the system was dependent on knowing

if university communication practitioners engage in typically journalistic activities at

the technical level, or if they held a leadership role that sits closer to the top of the

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management hierarchy to influence decision making and take responsibility for the

public’s orientation toward their university.

This research set out to discover current communication practices in a sampling of

Australian universities; the responsibilities and related issues of communication

offices; the communication measurement tools utilised and if measurement was an

issue in the sector; and how a communication measurement system may offer a

solution to some of these dilemmas.

Findings from this research identified the value of public relations to the overall

business initiatives undertaken by universities, the practical concerns facing

communication directors, and how public relations professionals currently measure

the impact of their work.

Through this exploration, the thesis shows how the system that has been developed

contributes new knowledge to a problematic situation of measuring the value of

strategic communication. The system’s measurement indicator can ultimately

influence the communications profession and enhance the reputation of the

strategic communication function.

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CERTIFICATION OF DISSERTATION

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my

knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by

another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for

the award of any degree or diploma at the University of Southern Queensland or

any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgment is made in

the thesis. Any contribution made to the research of colleagues with whom I have

worked with at the University of Southern Queensland or elsewhere during my

candidature is fully acknowledged.

I agree that this thesis be accessible for the purpose of study and research in

accordance with the normal conditions established by the Executive Director,

Library Services or nominee, for the care, loan and reproduction of the thesis.

Signed

……………………………………………………….. Date: ………………………………

Judith Marie Halter

ENDORSEMENT

Signed

……………………………………………………….. Date: ………………………………

Professor Glen David Postle AM (Supervisor)

Signed

……………………………………………………….. Date: ………………………………

Dr Aidan Burke (Associate Supervisor)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

One of the joys of completion is to look over the past few years and remember all

the friends and family who have helped and supported me to achieve what I

sometimes thought was an impossible dream.

I would like to express my deep appreciation and thanks to my supervisor Professor

Glen Postle AM - you have been a tremendous mentor. I would like to thank you

for being my critical friend and trusted teacher who challenged me in a supportive

way to take ownership of my own learning. You were with me at the beginning of

my university studies in the Access and Equity Course and now years later; here you

are as my doctorate supervisor. I thank you for your excellent guidance, care and

patience. I will treasure our friendship always.

I would also like to thank my Associate Supervisor Dr Aidan Burke. Without your

encouragement and belief I would never have considered a doctorate study. My

sincere gratitude for all you have taught me, your brilliant comments and

suggestions – thank you for being my best friend. You were there to support me in

moments when there was no-one to answer my queries. Through your persistence,

understanding and guidance I have completed this study and I owe you my eternal

thanks.

To my colleagues in the Office of USQ Corporate Communication and Public

Relations – thank you for listening to me and for being my friends who bore the

brunt of my frustrations and shared in my joy of successes – thank you for always

being there to listen, drink and console.

To Hana Vano, my special friend and industry colleague who has been the most

patient person in the world, thank you. We have developed this communication

measurement system together and my dream would never have been possible

without you. Your faith in me has been more than I could ever have hoped or

wished for – you are remarkable.

To my parents … Mum, I wish Dad were here to see what you both instilled in your

children. John, Brian and I have all been privileged to have you as our parents and

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this has allowed us to take risks and enjoy our lives to the hilt! I’ve been absent for

a while, but I’m back. Thank you Mum, John and Jo, Brian and Dawn for all you

have given me – tears of gratitude to you. To my mother-in-law, Norma I thank you

too for your support and patience. I am very grateful for you in my life.

In conclusion, I could not have done this research without the love and continual

daily support of my husband John, and our children Daniel, Brenton and Chloe and

their partners Alice, Jessica and Sean. Thank you for your faith, courage, support

and patience and enduring me, persistently throughout these years. I will never be

able to convey my appreciation fully – my deepest thanks and love for giving me the

gift of time to fulfil my dream.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT I

CERTIFICATION OF DISSERTATION III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV

LIST OF FIGURES X

LIST OF GRAPHS XII

FORWARD 1

PREAMBLE: THESIS CONTEXT AND FRAMEWORK 3

CHAPTER 1: LEARNING REFLECTION 11

1.1 INTRODUCTION 11

CHAPTER 2: POSITIONING THE THESIS 17

2.1 INTRODUCTION 17

2.2 USQ CASE STUDY 19

2.2.1 CHANGE IN AUSTRALIAN HIGHER EDUCATION 20

2.2.2 USQ’S REALISING OUR POTENTIAL INITIATIVE 22

2.2.3 2009 STAKEHOLDER RESEARCH REPORT 28

2.2.4 MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE STRATEGIC

COMMUNICATION PLAN 42

2.2.5 2010 VIOLENT ATTACKS ON INDIAN STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA 44

2.2.6 CRITICAL INCIDENCES 47

2.3 THE PROBLEM 47

2.3.1 THE AIM 50

2.3.2 APPROACH 51

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 53

3.1 INTRODUCTION 53

3.1.1 EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE 54

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3.1.2 STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION 61

3.1.3 ELEMENTS OF A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN 66

3.2 PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING 72

3.2.1 REPUTATION AND BRAND 76

3.3 LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION 84

3.4 COMMUNICATING IN THE CONTEMPORARY UNIVERSITY 91

3.5 CULTURE AND CLIMATE 94

3.5.1 CULTURE 94

3.5.2 CLIMATE 98

3.6 ORGANISATIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS 99

3.7 MEASUREMENT 108

3.8 THE PROJECT 117

3.8.1 AIM 119

3.8.2 PROBLEMS/ISSUES TO BE INVESTIGATED 120

CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY 121

4.1 INTRODUCTION 121

4.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 122

4.3 RESEARCH APPROACH 122

4.4 RESEARCH DESIGN 124

4.5 USING ACTION RESEARCH AS AN INTEGER TO KNOWLEDGE 127

4.6 DETAILED METHODOLOGY 131

4.6.1 SWOT ANALYSIS 132

4.6.2 EPISTEMOLOGY 136

4.6.3 HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS APPLICATION 138

4.7 DATA ANALYSIS 139

4.8 CONCLUSION 141

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CHAPTER 5: SURVEY RESEARCH AND FINDINGS 144

5.1 INTRODUCTION 144

5.2 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 145

5.2.1 QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES 146

5.3 SURVEY SECTIONS 192

5.4 SURVEY ANALYSIS- SECTION ONE 192

5.5 SURVEY ANALYSIS - SECTION TWO 197

5.6 SURVEY ANALYSIS - SECTION THREE 201

5.7 SUMMARY 203

CHAPTER SIX: THE SYSTEM OVERVIEW, LIMITATIONS, DISCUSSION,

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 206

6.1 THE SYSTEM OVERVIEW AND LIMITATIONS 206

6.1.1 MAJOR STAKEHOLDER CATEGORIES – SECTION 1A OF SLIDE ONE 210

6.1.2 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1B OF SLIDE ONE 211

6.1.3 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1C OF SLIDE ONE 212

6.1.4 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1D OF SLIDE ONE 215

6.1.5 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1E OF SLIDE ONE 216

6.1.6 THE SYSTEM – FRONT-END FORM VIEW 218

6.1.7 THE SYSTEM – VICE-CHANCELLOR ONE PAGE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION REPORT 220

6.2 SUMMARY OF THE ANALYTIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM 221

6.3 VIMEO PRESENTATION OF THE ANALYTIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM 226

6.4 INTERVIEW WITH KNOWRISK SENIOR CONSULTANT 226

6.5 LIMITATIONS TO THE STUDY 227

6.5.1 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 227

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6.6 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 231

6.6.1 SECTION ONE - ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION OFFICES 236 6.6.2 SECTION TWO - THE VALUE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION TO OVERALL BUSINESS INITIATIVES 245 6.6.3 SECTION THREE - NECESSITY OF AN ANALYTIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM 248

6.7 CONCLUSION 255

APPENDIX 257

APPENDIX A LEARNING PORTFOLIO 258

APPENDIX B USQ HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS APPROVAL 270

APPENDIX C INTERVIEW WITH HANA VANO, KNOWRISK SENIOR CONSULTANT AND SYSTEM DEVELOPER 272

REFERENCES 278

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Organisation chart extract 5

Figure 2 Kolb’s Learning Cycle 13

Figure 3 Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of Affective Domain 15

Figure 4 “Job losses expected at USQ” 24

Figure 5 “USQ reforms leave students in limbo” 25

Figure 6 “Sayonara: USQ sacks its curator” 26

Figure 7 “Union fears 100 USQ jobs may go” 27

Figure 8 2009 USQ key stakeholder engagement groups 30

Figure 9 USQ’s Strategic Communication Approach 35

Figure 10 SWOT Analysis 38

Figure 11 Strategic Communication Matrix Project 40

Figure 12 Initial strategic communication measurement concept 49

Figure 13 Power of Corporate Communication - Argenti 2007 67

Figure 14 Office of Corporate Communication & Public Relations Communication Plan 71

Figure 15 The Open System Model (von Bertalanffy 1968) 92

Figure 16 Typology of Participations adapted from Pretty, 1995 p1252 106

Figure 17 Research Process as reproduced from Monash University 2003 125

Figure 18 Carr and Kemmis’s Action Research Model (1986) Figure 18 129

Figure 19 Initial Action Research Model Perry and Zuber-Skerritt (1991:76) 130

Figure 20 SWOT analysis for research design 134

Figure 21 Slide One, the System – operational back-end user view 209

Figure 22 Section 1a 210

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Figure 23 Section 1b 211

Figure 24 Section 1c 212

Figure 25 Section 1d 215

Figure 26 Section 1e 216

Figure 27 The System – front-end form view 218

Figure 28 The System – the one page strategic communication report 220

Figure 29 The System measurement scale 225

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LIST OF GRAPHS

Graph 1 How many staff are employed at your university? 147

Graph 2 Do you believe this level of organisational management

adequately meets the needs of your office? 148

Graph 3 How important is it that your organisational unit directly reports

to the Vice-Chancellor? 149

Graph 4 Education level 150

Graph 5 Age group 151

Graph 6 Gender ratio 152

Graph 7 Salary range 152

Graph 8 Salary satisfaction level 153

Graph 9 Salary compensation analysis 154

Graph 10 Job satisfaction 155

Graph 11 Years of professional experience 156

Graph 12 Years in higher education sector 157

Graph 13 Number of office staff members 158

Graph 14 Staff qualifications 159

Graph 15 Number and level of staff tertiary qualifications 160

Graph 16 Number of staff undertaking further study 161

Graph 17 Number of office staff with specific public relations duties 162

Graph 18 Public relations responsibilities of the office 163

Graph 19 Percentage of time spent on public relations activities 164

Graph 20 Most effective external communication channel 166

Graph 21 Most effective internal communication channel 167

Graph 22 Behavioural assessment of materials produced 168

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Graph 23 Frequency of meetings with Vice-Chancellor 169

Graph 24 Purpose of meetings with Vice-Chancellor 170

Graph 25 Senior management value of strategic communication 171

Graph 26 Focus and purpose of communication activities 172

Graph 27 Level of satisfaction for public relations budget 173

Graph 28 Funding budget comparison 2013-2014 174

Graph 29 Public relations budget ranges 175

Graph 30 Committee Membership 176

Graph 31 Involvement on high-level committees 177

Graph 32 Office contribution to overall strategies 178

Graph 33 Public relations impact on university issues 179

Graph 34 Crisis communication advice 180

Graph 35 Development of internal communication material 181

Graph 36 Sanction of internal communication 182

Graph 37 Consistent communication messaging, tone and style 182

Graph 38 News sources – print/broadcast verses online 183

Graph 39 Importance of evidence in showing value of activities 184

Graph 40 Do you measure the impact of communications? 185

Graph 41 Communication measurement methods 186

Graph 42 Awareness of university reputational issues 186

Graph 43 Methods used to gauge reputation 187

Graph 44 Use of external public relations consultants 188

Graph 45 Australian university public relations networking group 189

Graph 46 Profession’s greatest single challenge 190

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Graph 47 Contact with Vice-Chancellor (Frequency of mention) 195

Graph 48 Job satisfaction comparison with public relations budget

allocation 196

Graph 49 Public relations budget allocations for Australian universities 196

Graph 50 Improving the value of strategic communication 200

Graph 51 Importance of measuring the value of public relations objectives 201

Graph 52 How we can improve the value of public relations 203

Graph 53 Comparing office responsibilities when public relations and marketing are combined 237

Graph 54 Blurring of professional boundaries 238

Graph 55 Higher level work performed indicative of office staff education

levels 243

Graph 56 Level of office staff qualifications 244

Graph 57 Effective measurement rated most important issue 249

Graph 58 Demonstrating value rated the greatest single challenge 250

Graph 59 Current practices fail to provide reputational measurement 252

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FORWARD

The USQ Professional Doctorate program provides the platform to undertake this

research, but many may ask, ‘What is a Professional Doctorate?’

Professional Doctorates are being established within many universities in Australia

and elsewhere. A Professional Doctorate is the highest form of academic

recognition of learning in the workplace (Clarke 2008). The award provides a

practice-based equivalent of the research-based doctorate. It is oriented to

professional practice and applied research.

The breadth and depth of thinking and understanding, investigation and evaluation

involves innovation and originality, such that the work is at the leading edge of

practice (USQ 2013). The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA 2001, p. 2) outlines

parameters as:

A doctorate is awarded for the creation and interpretation of knowledge

which extends the forefront of a discipline, usually through original research.

Holders of doctorates will be able to conceptualise, design and implement

projects for the generation of significant new knowledge or understanding.

A composite view of how British Universities express this intent would be:

A doctoral degree may be awarded to a person who has made an original

and independent contribution to knowledge and thereby demonstrated

critical capabilities of scholarship and appropriate modes of investigation

(Land, Meyer & Smith 2008).

Both statements emphasise scholarship and conceptualisation as essential

components of doctoral research.

This thesis depicts the key actions, interventions, knowledge and learnings

developed through individual study and positions them within the Action Research

framework. The ‘project’ or practical undertaking is a consistently central feature of

work-based doctorates, even if the form and focus of the project is highly varied,

2

methodologies are diverse and are individual if tending to be dominated either by a

thesis-style output or a portfolio accompanied by a critique or reflective narrative

(Costley & Stephenson 2008, O’Mullane 2005, Zuber-Skerritt 2006).

3

PREAMBLE: THESIS CONTEXT AND FRAMEWORK

Work set out in this thesis is the result of the contextual ‘common ground’ found

with personal aspirations and ambitions, professional experience, organisational

position and responsibilities, and relationships with a wide range of colleagues.

This approach is consistent with the findings of Doncaster and Lester (2002), as

reported by Lester (2004, pp. 3-4), in that one of the key reasons practitioners see

benefit in current work-based learning programs is that it provides a framework for

‘taking forward an idea, maintaining a high level of thinking and action within and

around it, and encouraging reflective and critical thinking that goes beyond the

immediate practice thinking’.

Lester’s framework has been used to approach the planning, research and

development in various dimensions of this thesis. This impact is shown in the

learning reflection and subject introduction (chapters one and two), and literature

review (chapter three), the research design, development and findings of research

outcomes (chapters four and five) and concluded through a discussion, the

conclusion, the system overview and recommendations (chapter six). The content

of this professional doctoral study is individually determined within an academic

framework.

The structural relationship of this thesis is:-

» Chapter One: Learning Reflection (outlines formal and informal

education positions and personal reflection)

» Chapter Two: Positioning the Thesis (subject of the research)

» Chapter Three: Literature Review (why this empirical research merits

study and how it relates to others’)

» Chapter Four: Methodology (explains the research approach)

» Chapter Five: Survey Research and Results (the research findings)

» Chapter Six: The System Overview, Limitations, Discussion,

Recommendations and Conclusion.

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There are similarities between this structure and that proposed by Williams (2004)

and which he calls a ‘rich modelling’ layout. In essence he proposes an early phase,

a middle phase and a final phase, which he ‘bookends’ with an introduction and a

discussion. Williams’ phases are reflected in this thesis with the early phase being

covered in chapters one and two; the middle and final phases are embedded in

chapters three, four and five (with each chapter covering the planning,

implementation, research, and review); and chapters one and six are the ‘bookends’

that bring the phases and project together as a whole. Consideration for this thesis

framework was informed by the structure of the DPST program at USQ.

Further to the professional doctoral framework outlined above, it is a prerequisite

requirement of USQ to state the institutional, professional and personal contexts

for undertaking this study. Aligning with the needs of the University, these contexts

are detailed below.

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

The author has been employed by the University of Southern Queensland during

the course of this study, initially in the role of Corporate Communications Project

Officer and later as the Senior Public Relations Coordinator and then, Associate

Director. This is a leadership role working under the broad direction of the Director,

Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations. The position provides

supervision, direction and guidance to the multidisciplinary communications team,

ensuring that performance is managed and strategic objectives are met.

The position within the organisation is shown in the partial organisation chart in

Figure 1.

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Figure 1: Organisation chart extract

It is shown that the position of Associate Director reports to the Director of

Corporate Communication and Public Relations, with the Director reporting to the

Executive Director for Sustainable Business Management and Improvement (SBMI).

The Director of Corporate Communication and Public Relations, and Associate

Director, also have a strong dotted reporting line responsibility to the Vice-

Chancellor and President.

The Director is also my Doctorate Associate Supervisor and has played an important

role in the progression of this doctoral study. Throughout my studies I have also

received the support and encouragement of the current and former University

Chancellor, the current and former Vice-Chancellor, and the Executive Director,

SBMI.

Dick (2002, p. 167) refers to the trade off, in action research, between ‘discovering

general truths and being relevant to the local situation’. Armsby contends that:

Vice-Chancellor and President

Professor Jan Thomas

Chief Operating Officer

Jan Thomas (Acting)

Executive Director, Sustainable

Business Management and

Improvement

Director, Corporate Communication

& Public Relations

Dr Aidan Burke

Associate Director

Judy Halter

Staff x 7

University Council

(Governance)

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The work based learner is both helped and hindered by his or her

organisational context. But the context is part of the reason for the research

and hence cannot be denied. Work based learners must grapple with being

a part of the problem, situation or development they are investigating

(Armsby 2000, p. 35).

The decision to undertake this Professional Doctorate study aligns with the

professional needs of the Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations

and was influenced by the need to identify a communication measureable that

would be accepted by Australian university vice-chancellors as outlined in the USQ

Case Study (detailed in chapter two).

PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT

The learning reflection, described in chapter one and detailed in appendix A, more

fully describes the incidences that have shaped changes in the Author’s personal

and professional life to date. However, to set the professional context for this

study, career and interests have been repetitively contiguous to the field of

communication.

It will be shown in later chapters of this study that communication is a critical

business tool for accelerating change and improving organisational performance

(Hutchison 2013). However, within the university sector, key performance

indicators measure areas of success and identify areas in need of improvement.

Without a quantifiable measurement tool, the importance of strategic

communication appears undervalued and, as will be shown, resourcing for

initiatives is being refused in the weakening fiscal environment.

I am optimistic that this study on communication measurement has the potential to

make a contribution to professional knowledge and practice, as well as adding value

to the strategic direction of USQ by evidencing the value of listening to

stakeholders. As indicated by Green, Maxwell & Shanahan (2000) the success of

professional doctorates is likely to rest largely with the long-term advocacy and

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support of the professional associations representing the interests of a profession in

Australia.

During the course of this study, a partnership has been developed with the Sydney-

based specialist risk management company, CorProfit. The concept for measuring

strategic communication was possible through the significant modification of a risk

management database which had the underlying component of quantifiably

validating a communication measurement. The company understood the

theoretical concept, and through a combined effort, a design was formed to

develop a database (the System) to measure the value of strategic communication.

Initial presentations to the former Chancellor and former Vice-Chancellor, the

senior executive and colleagues received favourable feedback, as the System

provided a solution which was previously esoteric in proving the value of listening

to stakeholder perceptions. The development of sustainable partnerships between

industry and universities is crucial to the service and support of doctoral education

(Kemp 2013).

PERSONAL CONTEXT

Personal growth was experienced through increased knowledge in areas of

intellectual inquiry, analyses and learning to drive the process of research and

investigation while developing and applying new practice knowledge in a

professional setting. Putting together work and part-time postgraduate study for

an extended period of time is not an easy task and for most professional doctorate

candidates the prime reason for undertaking this pathway is to improve

professional practice and organisational performance, and consequently personal

job enhancement and satisfaction (Kemp 2013).

This professional doctorate study is the culmination of professional and personal

achievements. The motivation was more for practical than personal reasons, but a

personal growth has been realised through achieving this goal which has brought a

renewed confidence and personal identity. Creativity and originality are integral to

doctoral study regardless of the doctoral route (Gregory 1995). The personal

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context for work-based learning has several dimensions. One dimension, relevant

to doctoral learning, highlights that any research is a form of human activity and

that our minds are the ‘instruments’ through which all data is generated and then

interpreted (Cherry 1999). This can lead to the view implicit in Usher and Edwards

(1994) question as cited by Armsby (2000, p. 40) ‘Can research ever be anything

more than a subtle form of writing the self?’

Work at the beginning of the doctoral learning journey to develop and present a

learning reflection (chapter one) assisted in the understanding and appreciation of

the personal dimension, its significance in undertaking doctoral learning, and its

contribution to rigour in research.

FORMAT

To provide further detail to the thesis structure mentioned earlier, the theoretical

framework and thesis approach is shown below with the literature review leading

into the conceptual framework that is the research problem. The research survey

participants are determined, patterns in the data collected are analysed and the

discussion, conclusions, recommendations and an overview of the measureable

system are made in chapter six. A detailed overview of each chapter follows.

CHAPTER ONE OVERVIEW

Chapter one outlines the more significant elements of the learning pathway and

experiences prior to entering the Doctoral program. A reflection of life experiences

and past formal education is provided to not only credit relevant prior learning and

assessment, but to provide a primary point of analysis of how engaging in doctoral

level learning results in the growth and development of a practitioner researcher.

Lifelong learning is characterised by Jarvis as:

A combination of processes throughout a lifetime whereby the whole person

experiences social situations, the perceived content of which is then

transformed cognitively, emotively or practically and integrated into the

9

individual’s biography resulting in a continually changing (or more

experienced) person (Jarvis 2007, p. 1).

CHAPTER TWO OVERVIEW

Chapter two positions the thesis, focusing on the subject of the core research and

the background to the problem of strategic communication measurement. The gap

in knowledge is evidenced in the outlined case study which leads to the problem

being addressed in this thesis. The aim and approach are presented to inform the

reader of the research investigation to be undertaken.

CHAPTER THREE OVERVIEW

Chapter three extends a critical review of the knowledge and ideas established in

the field of public relations, specifically in the area of measurement. Through the

completion of a postgraduate Master’s degree, moderate existing theoretical

knowledge in the field of public relations was cognisant; however undertaking a

literature review at the beginning of this study provided a cogent rationale,

including a justification for the specific research. The literature review assists the

reader to understand the definitions of public relations terms used within the

thesis, what has already been said, who the key writers are, and what questions are

being asked. The literature review defines strengths and weaknesses and is an

evaluative report that was used as a guiding concept before commencing research,

data collection and analysis.

There are arguments that engaging with existing theory at an early stage of the

research process potentially detracts from the quality and originality of the

research. Nathaniel (2006) espouses this argument, while Holton (2007 p. 269) is

also resolutely purist in her view, arguing that ‘grounded theory requires the

researcher to enter the research field with no preconceived problem statement,

interview protocols, or extensive review of literature’.

For this doctoral research, postponing a literature review until data collection and

analysis were completed would have proven unworkable, as ethical approval and

progression through the doctoral process was dependent upon producing a detailed

10

literature review prior to commencing primary data collection and analysis. This

issue is acknowledged by several authors, including McGhee et al (2007), Nathaniel

(2006) and Glaser (1998.)

CHAPTER FOUR OVERVIEW

During the planning phase of this study a problem was formulated, including the

research design and rationale. The literature review was carried out to justify the

research methodology.

Chapter four justifies the methodology used for the research, what steps were

followed and why. Qualitative research will determine various university

communication practices and action research will be engaged into the research

process to develop and implement improvements. Insights will emerge from the

process of qualitative and action research.

CHAPTER FIVE OVERVIEW

A survey was conducted to establish an understanding of current strategic

communication practices used by a sampling of Australian universities. This chapter

describes how the participants were selected and the sample size; ethical clearance;

an explanation of the survey questions; and how data was collected and analysed.

Referring back to the conceptual hypothesis, survey result summary analysis will be

outlined.

Data once collected will also be referred back to the purpose of this research to

determine if there is a need to further develop and improve a system to measure

strategic communication initiatives for use within the higher education sector.

CHAPTER SIX OVERVIEW

Chapter six will link the research survey findings to the literature review within the

context of the research problem theory. A discussion of the research findings, an

overview of the system, conclusion and recommendations will be made outlining

implications for professional practice.

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CHAPTER ONE: LEARNING REFLECTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The development of this study has been influenced by professional and personal

didactic and experiential learnings. As explained in the forward and preamble to

this doctorate, a reflective learning approach is a prerequisite to undertaking the

professional doctorate. Throughout this chapter the need for a reflective approach

is explicated and a summary of the author’s learning portfolio is included for the

reader in appendix A.

Work-based pedagogies focus on the creativity and reflexivity of individuals within a

work-based context (Costley 2010) (rather than the learning of a set syllabus), and

reflection is an integral part of higher education work-based learning programs

(Solomon & Gustavs 2004). Numerous learning theories emphasise reflection as a

key element of the learning process (Kolb 1984, Honey & Mumford 1986, Boud

1987, Stewart 2001).

Reflective learning is a fundamental element of work-based learning as it enables

exploration of past experiences in order to lead to new understandings and

improved practice. It assists to define what is already known to better understand

learning processes with a view ultimately to improve deeper learning.

Reflection-in-action (while doing something) involves understanding new concepts

through improvisation and experimentation during an exercise to solve problems in

practice. The motive for this doctoral study was strengthened through reflection-in-

action where the opportunity was provided to put thoughts into words. There was

no ready answer to the puzzle of strategic communication measurement, and re-

shaping what the problem was, while working on it, and self-questioning during this

process, provided a greater probability of achieving a result. For example,

Marquardt tells us, ‘... in action learning, questions are not only seeking answers.

Rather, they are seeking to go deeper, to understand, to respond to what is being

asked, to give it thought. Asking questions is not only a quest for solutions but also

an opportunity to explore’ (Marquardt 1999, pp. 30-31).

12

Reflection-on-action is a self-evaluation of performance. It is a process through

which one can develop or change opinions. On completion of reflection-on-action,

a learner reviews an experience and appraises what was learned. Learners can

develop into reflective learners by using the following methods:

» Create a learning diary or portfolio

» Keep reflective notes

» Make constructive use of feedback from advisors, consultants, examiners

» Not be hard on themselves or underestimate their skills, but be honest

» Think positively about moving themselves and their skills forward (Cottrell

2003a, 2003b).

Reflective learners continually cogitate on what and how they are learning: how

they are using what they are learning; what their strengths and weaknesses in

learning are; what their learning priorities are; how they can improve and build

upon their learning process; and how well they are working towards their short,

medium and long-term goals. Reflective learners consider their motivation, their

attitudes and ideas, and discover a way of confronting real problems and providing

tailor-made solutions in real time.

Reflecting on experiences provided scope for this study to frame a complex

problem, test out various interpretations, and modify actions with a view to

resolving the issue of strategic communication measurement. Thought processes

were extended and became more systematic as confidence in making judgements

about the worth of this study became clearer. Reflection-in-action and reflection-

on-action raised self-awareness of prior knowledge and connected into the existing

cognitive and metacognitive network of ideas to seek a strategic communication

measurement. The self-assessment of reflective learning was beneficial in reflecting

back to realise the importance for further study in this area. Understanding what

was known, and how and why one learns, was constructive in articulating strengths

and weaknesses to move forward with a more insightful approach to this study.

Reflection underpins learning at university, and it is a vital part of professional

practice. Osterman (1990) argues that, ‘while experience may serve as the stimulus

13

for learning, reflection is the essential part of the process that makes it possible to

learn from experience’ (Osterman 1990, p. 135).

Experiential learning is ‘education that occurs as a direct participation in the events

of life’ (Houle 1980). While experiential education has proved itself of value in

many situations, it cannot replace all forms of learning. A number of meaning

schemes work together to generate one’s meaning perspective and learning that

has occurred during childhood, youth, life experiences and formal education.

Reflection leads to what advocates of experiential education embrace as an

educational philosophy that focuses on learning from experience, or learning by

doing (Walter and Marks 1981), and reflection on that experience.

In experiential learning, immediate personal experience is the focal point for

learning. As pointed out by David Kolb (1984, p. 21), personal experience gives the

‘life, texture, and subjective personal meaning to abstract concepts’. At the same

time it also provides ‘a concrete, publicly shared reference point for testing the

implications and validity of ideas created during the learning process’ (Kolb 1984).

Experience alone is not, however, a sufficient condition for learning. Experiences

also need to be processed consciously by reflecting on them. Vidal refers to Kolb’s

learning cycle (1984) in Figure 2 below:

Figure 2 – Kolb’s Learning Cycle

Although the elements are numbered from 1 to 4, Kolb and Fry (1975) concede that

the learning cycle can start at any element and, also, the form of a circle can very

14

well be understood as an open circle, even a continuous spiral (Vidal 2008). The

reflection is a life experiences debrief where it was asked what I learned from these

experiences. Mezirow (1997, p. 16) states that, ‘Meaning perspectives naturally

change and evolve in response to life experiences, especially those which induce

powerful emotional responses in the individual. Often these life-changing events

are personal crises such as divorce, death of a loved one, natural or man-made

disasters and accidents, health crisis, financial upheaval, or unexpected job

changes’. It is these meaning perspectives which Mezirow saw as the raw material

of the changes that occur in transformational learning. What have I learned? What

have personal experiences taught me?

Affective learning is demonstrated by behaviours indicating attitudes of awareness,

interest, attention, concern, and responsibility, the ability to listen and respond in

interactions with others, and the ability to demonstrate those attitudinal

characteristics or values which are appropriate to the problem and the field of

study. An added depth and breadth to an individual’s personal and professional life

can be gained by examining and questioning beliefs, opinions and values.

Krathwohl's affective domain taxonomy (Figure 3) is perhaps the best known of any

of the affective taxonomies. ‘The taxonomy is ordered according to the principle of

internalisation. Internalisation refers to the process whereby a person's affect

toward an object passes from a general awareness level to a point where the affect

is 'internalised' and consistently guides or controls the person's behaviour’ (Seels &

Glasgow 1990, p. 28).

15

Figure 3: Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of Affective Domain

Receiving is being aware of or sensitive to the existence of certain ideas,

material, or phenomena and being willing to tolerate them. Examples

include: to differentiate, to accept, to listen (for), to respond to (Krathwohl,

Bloom & Masia 1964).

Responding is committed in some small measure to the ideas, materials, or

phenomena involved by actively responding to them. Examples are: to

comply with, to follow, to commend, to volunteer, to spend leisure time in,

to acclaim (Krathwohl et al. 1964).

Valuing is willing to be perceived by others as valuing certain ideas,

materials, or phenomena. Examples include: to increase measured

proficiency in, to relinquish, to subsidise, to support, to debate (Krathwohl

et al. 1964).

Organisation is to relate the value to those already held and bring it into a

harmonious and internally consistent philosophy. Examples are: to discuss,

to theorise, to formulate, to balance, to examine (Krathwohl et al. 1964).

Organisation

Valuing

Responding

Receiving

Characterisation

by Value Set

16

Characterisation by value or value set is to act consistently in accordance

with the values he or she has internalised. Examples include: to revise, to

require, to be rated high in the value, to avoid, to resist, to manage, to

resolve (Krathwohl et al. 1964).

Confidence is gained to enable better management of professional situations

through the learnings of life experience. When challenging barriers, strength and

persistence to analyse issues is developed, not only to identify a problem but to

look for a solution. Making mistakes during the life’s learning experiences is also an

enabler towards the acceptance of situations that cannot be changed.

Appendix A contains a compilation of experiential learning evidence, an overview of

professional practice background, and formal education to enable the reader to

gain an understanding of the Author’s life experiences, work experience, and

training experience. The learning portfolio in Appendix A is outlined in four sections:

» Learning from Life Experiences;

» Professional Career;

» Formal Education; and

» Critical Incidences.

Reflection and analysis of critical incidences is widely regarded as a valuable

learning tool. A critical incident is a vivid significant moment where evidence,

insights and feelings may contribute to professional development by bringing

improvement forward. Critical incidents are an excellent way to develop an

increased understanding of and control over professional judgement, and thereby

over practice (Ghaye and Lillyman 1997).

The following chapters position the thesis and reveal the professional critical

incidences which generated significant and powerful learning experiences to

demonstrate the reason for undertaking this doctoral study into strategic

communication measurement.

17

CHAPTER TWO: POSITIONING THE THESIS

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Communication is a core strategic function of any organisation, and with the

diversification of the global information landscape it has increasing importance.

Opinions are built and shared globally, 24 hours a day - every day, through and in

web-based communities and traditional media.

Since the development of digital communication and the 24-hour news cycle,

audiences are relentlessly bombarded with a myriad of communication messages.

Organisational actions can be communicated or exposed to global audiences within

a matter of seconds, better educated publics process information in greater

quantities, and an increase in online activist and consumer groups has decreased

the probability that a problematic organisational issue will slip under the radar

(Botan 1997).

The result is that audiences are hugely accessible to businesses and corporations,

and are necessarily more discerning when it comes to the products they purchase,

the trademarks they align themselves with, and the messages they choose to take

on board. The need to convey authenticity and transparency in communication is

more important now than ever before.

If organisations strategically share who they are, their values, their knowledge and,

importantly, their mistakes, they will appear more visible, genuine, and available

when engaging with their audiences and if future public relations and

communication opportunities arise. If they mask their identities, organisations risk

not only missing out on public profiling opportunities, but also compromising their

credibility as a leader or trusted source in their field and with their stakeholders.

The role of the communication professional is to plan strategically, manage and

sustain an organisation’s relationship with key audiences, taking responsibility for

the organisation’s reputation and thereby helping leaders to achieve strategic and

18

operational goals. As such, communication is an integral part of leadership

responsibility.

Today, in both the public and private sectors, accountability and, therefore,

measurability are key principles of leadership. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

represent a set of measures for organisational leaders which focus on aspects of

their performance. In a relentless news environment, leaders are increasingly

answerable to new organisational reputation KPIs, and as communication

professionals we have not met the growing need to provide an accurate

measurement of our work in response to industry requirements. In today’s world

of public scrutiny, measurement and evaluation of communication actions need to

be more than anecdotal and informal by aligning more similarly to other professions

within organisations.

It is interesting to note the occupational and professional composition of the

communication industry. The vast majority of public relations professionals are

trained in arts and humanities, coming from backgrounds in and completing courses

in strategic communication, crisis communication, journalism, media studies and

social sciences (Macnamara 2005). Specifically, most communication professionals

are trained in and orientated primarily towards, words, visual images and sound –

what, in classic Greek terms, are rhetoric (Macnamara 2005).

In comparison, ‘dominant coalition’ theory developed by professors of industrial

administration, Johannes Pennings and Paul Goodman, at the University of

Pittsburgh, shows that the orientation of the ‘dominant coalition’ in modern

companies and organisations is predominantly numeric, with boardrooms

populated by accountants, engineers, technologists, sales and marketing heads, and

lawyers (Grunig and Hunt 1984, p. 120). While the latter do not deal specifically in

numbers, their currency is proof. Studies of ‘dominant coalitions’, and half an hour

in any boardroom, will show that the ‘language of the dominant coalition’ is, most

notably, financial numbers (dollars); raw numbers in data such as spreadsheets;

percentages; and charts and graphs presenting numeric values. Text - words and

even some visuals - do not rate highly (Macnamara 2005).

19

Objective rigorous methods are required that deliver credible proof of results and

Return on Investment (ROI) to an organisation’s board and other key stakeholders,

but how do leaders place a measureable numeric value on communicating

strategically and effectively with their internal and external stakeholders?

2.2 USQ CASE STUDY

The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) is a medium-sized university

(enrolling 28 000 students) located in the State of Queensland on the east coast of

Australia (USQ 2014). The University’s main campus is in the regional city of

Toowoomba and there are three smaller campuses – one on Queensland’s Fraser

Coast and two campuses in outer metropolitan Brisbane, one located in Springfield

and another in central Ipswich. USQ also has two student centres at the

Queensland College of Wine Tourism in Stanthorpe and at the Educational Hub in

Maryborough (USQ 2014).

Since the late 1970s the University has been a leader in technology-enhanced open

and distance education, with up to 80 percent of its students studying off campus

(USQ 2014). As a regional university, USQ has obligations to serve its regional

communities, maintain an appropriate breadth of study to satisfy local demand and

regional needs, and provide a basis for regional economic and social development

through meaningful engagement with its stakeholders.

USQ’s antecedent institution - Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT) and Darling

Downs Institute of Advanced Education (DDIAE) - was established in 1967 and

developed as a college of advanced education during the 1970s and 1980s. The

limitations on the recruitment of students from the local region, and a mission that

included responsibilities to serve the vast rural areas of southern and western

Queensland, pushed the college to expand into distance education – quickly

becoming a leader in this area. USQ has maintained this acknowledged leadership

position – as reflected in a number of prestigious awards, including being named

Joint Winner of Australia’s Good Universities Guide University of the Year Award in

2000-01 for ‘developing the e-University’ (USQ 2014). The institution also built on

20

this position to become an early and successful entrant into international education

in the 1980s and, more recently, by establishing branch campuses in Fraser Coast,

Springfield and Ipswich, and student centres in Stanthorpe and Maryborough, as a

basis for securing new markets.

By virtue of its location outside Australia’s larger cities, its background as a college

of advanced education and its heavy involvement in flexible resource-based

education, USQ has a high proportion of its student body which may be categorised

as non-traditional. The University is over-represented by people from groups that

are otherwise under-represented in Australian higher education as a whole,

particularly people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and people

from rural and geographically isolated areas. Many USQ students are the first in

their family to attend university.

2.2.1 CHANGE IN AUSTRALIAN HIGHER EDUCATION

The impact on higher education from the economic, social, political and educational

changes associated with globalisation, post-Fordist development and the rise of the

information age is well documented (Drucker 1994, Limerick et al. 1998, Marginson

& Considine 2000). In business terms, however, these changes manifest in a more

deregulated, competitive and discerning higher education market: in modified

student behaviours and in revised requirements for learning and teaching. These

changes are, in turn, associated with a major shift in the functioning of universities.

Marginson and Considine (2000) describe these trends in terms of the development

of ‘enterprise universities’:

All Australian universities are now enterprise universities. The enterprise

university joins a mixed public-private economy to a quasi-business culture

and to academic traditions partly reconstituted, partly republican, and partly

broken. This is not so much a genuine private business culture as a public

sector variant in which certain of the conditions and techniques of business

(such as competition, scarcity, marketing, goals defined in money terms)

have been grafted on to existing bureaucracies now opened up to external

21

pressures …. In their political economy, enterprise universities sit

somewhere between the public academic institutions they were and the

private companies that some imagine them to be already (Marginson &

Considine 2000 p. 28).

As is the case in all developed countries, governments have served as major change

agents for higher education development. The Australian government uses

numerous strategies to promote specific agendas, with increasing sector

deregulation featuring as a major goal by successive governments over an extended

period. Strategies to increase competition through encouraging private higher

education providers and by allowing alternatives to the government funded places

that have been the mainstay of Australian higher education - including allowing full-

fee undergraduates - have also been pursued. In addition, entrepreneurism and a

stronger business orientation for universities have been encouraged. For the

Australian university sector, these changes commenced in 1988 with the Federal

Government’s Higher Education: A policy statement and the establishment of the

Unified National System (UNS) of higher education. This policy required universities

to adopt private sector management techniques to improve planning, budgeting

and decision making. It also required improved public accountability. One of the

essential elements for public accountability was the development of performance

indicators and their publication in university annual reports. The planned reduction

of higher education funding in real terms has obliged universities to seek alternative

funding sources and to exploit the opportunities created by deregulation.

At the same time, the market has changed radically. High employment rates,

increased demand for vocational education and training sparked in part by a

commodities boom, rising university costs for students, and an oversupply of

government funded higher education places have contributed to a softening of

demand for higher education over the last few years in Australia. Universities are

obliged to take action to address the challenges and attempt to exploit the

opportunities that the changing higher education operating environment affords -

moving towards becoming enterprise universities. However, for USQ, the enhanced

business orientation that this movement implies must co-exist with the institution’s

22

continued obligations as a regional university to engage meaningfully and

productively with its communities and to provide educational opportunities for a

diverse student constituency.

The need to balance competing agendas is, of course, a dilemma that all modern

universities face to a greater or lesser degree. Watson (2003) notes that the impact

of the expanding expectations on higher education has re-created a series of

problems for universities including: ‘being at once …. competitive and collegial,

private and public, excellent and equal, and entrepreneurial and caring’ (Watson

2003, p. 4).

To position itself to more effectively address these competing agendas – prospering

as a sustainable, efficient, business enterprise while fulfilling its social and

community obligations - USQ undertook what was called the Realising our Potential

initiative.

2.2.2 USQ’S REALISING OUR POTENTIAL INITIATIVE

USQ’s Realising our Potential (RoP) initiative was undertaken in 2007 and 2008 to

address the core challenges of tighter budgets and increased competition for

students by pursuing several related business strategies, namely:

» Forging a unique identity – the USQ ‘brand’;

» Striving for consistent excellence in learning and teaching – optimising the

whole student experience and the achievement of desired graduate qualities

as a basis for achieving competitive advantage;

» Improving quality and student demand, retention, progression and

completion;

» Optimising operations in terms of efficiency, focus, quality and impact; and

» Building capacity (Pearson 2007).

One of the major projects within the RoP initiative centred on re-examining the

University’s academic program portfolio as part of a wide-ranging ‘Academic

Program Rationalisation’ exercise. Previous approaches to flexibility at USQ left the

23

institution with a significant number of programs that suffered from low enrolment

and/or that failed to return a positive financial contribution. The Academic Program

Rationalisation involved eliminating non-productive programs in order to free up

resources to ensure new more attractive course offerings. Clearly, this was a major

challenge for the institution to reduce the overall size of academic program

offerings.

In 2008, the number of degree programs reduced from 353 to 93, a 74 percent

reduction, and the number of courses reduced from 1592 to approximately 751, a

53 percent reduction, leaving a suite of strong and defensible programs (Lovegrove

2008). Significant rationalisation and re-profiling of academic staff was also

undertaken through RoP to match the programs on offer, although the changes

were clearly more evident in some areas of the University than in others (AUQA

2009).

The aim of achieving a ‘new level’ of quality student courses was viewed with

concern by several USQ stakeholder groups and negative coverage in the local, state

and national media began to surface from November 2007. Toowoomba Chronicle

headlines, listed in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7, caused unease and disquiet in USQ

communities.

24

Reproduced from The Chronicle on November 27 2007 - “Job losses expected at USQ”

Figure 4: “Job Losses expected at USQ”

25

Reproduced from The Chronicle on April 4, 2008 - “USQ reforms leave students in limbo”

Figure 5: “USQ reforms leave students in limbo”

26

Reproduced from The Chronicle on April 19 2008 - “Sayonara: USQ sacks its curator”

Figure 6: “Sayonara: USQ sacks its curator”

27

Reproduced from The Chronicle on May 5, 2011 - “Union fears 100 USQ jobs may go”

28

Figure 7: “Union fears 100 USQ jobs may go”

Simultaneously, an online forum, ‘Mathematics in Australia’, published several

articles with expert comment from academics both within Australia and abroad

querying the decision of USQ to dramatically cut mathematics courses.

With Government funding pressures combined with the negative media attention

from the RoP initiative, senior executives recognised that they were facing a

number of internal and external challenges which had the potential to impact on

the success of USQ’s 2009-2013 Strategic Plan.

USQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Bill Lovegrove recognised the impact that these

environmental influences might have on the successful implementation of USQ’s

operational initiatives and identified the importance of communicating openly with

stakeholders over these perceived issues. Professor Lovegrove tasked USQ’s Office

of Corporate Communication and Public Relations to assist with internal and

external communication strategies to address the concerns of stakeholders.

2.2.3 2009 STAKEHOLDER RESEARCH REPORT

As previously conveyed, like all Universities throughout Australia, USQ was facing a

number of internal and external challenges which had the potential to impact its

operations into the future. Stakeholder perceptions of media coverage of the

29

University appeared to have been formed at a particular point in time (during the

RoP process) which, although not ongoing, was controversial at that time and hence

memorable. In addition, anecdotal and formal research had also shown USQ’s RoP

initiative (Burke 2009, p. 7) had impacted some stakeholders and their perceptions

of the University. It was important for the University’s internal and external

communication strategies to address each of the stakeholder specific issues as well

as acknowledge the potential impact these environmental influences might have on

the successful implementation of its operational and communication initiatives.

At the beginning of 2009, an external public relations consultant and the USQ

Corporate Communication and Public Relations Office conducted qualitative

research to understand the perceptions of stakeholders and to determine

stakeholder-specific issues - knowing the ‘where we are now’. The research

methodology was designed around USQ’s directive to secure qualitative data about

the perceptions of a number of key internal and external stakeholder groups

(shown in Figure 8).

30

Internal stakeholders (staff)

• Middle-level managers

• Faculty and group managers

• Academic staff

• Administration staff

External stakeholder groups

• Brisbane- and Toowoomba-based

Alumni who had graduated in the

last five years

• State Government funding decision-makers, based in Brisbane

• Media in Toowoomba

• Potential post-graduate students from Brisbane and Toowoomba

• Toowoomba business leaders

• Members of the Toowoomba and Darling Downs communities

• High school principals

• Toowoomba and Darling Downs year 12 school students

• Toowoomba Regional Councillor

Figure 8: 2009 USQ key stakeholder engagement groups

A program comprising focus groups and telephone interviews was constructed to

research the USQ-identified stakeholder groups and throughout all, questioning was

based on determining perceptions relating to the University’s reputation,

positioning, stakeholder experiences and values and culture.

Following the results of the stakeholder research analysis, and prior to developing

internal and external communication plans, it was first necessary to undertake an

audit of the stakeholder issues. For example, was USQ already active in the area of

stakeholder concerns and not communicating our work in a particular area? Or was

the stakeholder concern an issue that USQ needed to address and improve on? An

informed intelligence was gathered about each stakeholder issue. An example of

one stakeholder issue, USQ’s response, and strategic communication actions

appears over.

31 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Stakeholder issue

a) A couple of years ago we proposed a stronger connection between USQ and [school] but it simply didn’t get the legs because of lack of interest and response from USQ.

Focus Group Recipient Comments » Bring school students on to campus more – fund buses to bring grades 11

and 12 students on campus » Invite teachers on campus » Make schools aware of what Faculties are doing » Framework needs to be put in place – strategic direction required – repeated comment » Remove ‘Secondary’ from all communications – should be across the entire

school journey – long term commitment. Strategic, managerial, operational structure to be constructed

» Expand concepts to include primary school children

» Increase involvement of Artsworx into secondary schools

» Increase use of creative arts into schools in the South West region – make it their University too

» USQ should integrate with schools’ core business – add into their curriculum not to their workload

Following research into the perceived stakeholder issue outlined above, it was discovered that USQ currently:-

**XXX is conducting a major review of the school partner program. Written to all school principals and guidance officers in Toowoomba Education Coalition (34 schools) and will collate responses – not one solution for all – different approaches required depending on the needs of schools. Need school partnering engagement policy – review, upgrade to multi-layered approach. April/May time proposed to collate information, decide direction and apply to BMC to implement ideas.

**The Faculty of Education is supported by schools in the SW Qld region by way of early learning centres and schools hosting student teachers on various school placements. The centres and schools are very welcoming of these placements, which also informally provide opportunity for professional development for educators/teachers in the participating schools and centres. A proposed collaboration between the IDEAS research group in the Faculty of Education, and Dare to Lead project, is engaging with the South West community and improving outcomes for indigenous students.

**The Faculty of Sciences has been seeking the means to expand the availability and accessibility of its school engagement program, “Future Link”, to the area covered by the tour as well as the border region. The activities offered within that

32 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

program, either for students or teachers, have been promoted in those regions and material made available digitally, but many actual events require travel to the Toowoomba campus. The Faculty has successfully sought joint funding through its partnership in PICSE (Primary Industry Centre for Science Education) to appoint a very experienced schools liaison officer in 2010. This position will provide support for improved capacity and quality of teacher professional enrichment, school liaison and teacher support partnerships with a specific task relating to the delivery of these as distributed points within the regions. The goal is to have a multi-facetted development and engagement event at probably Roma, Goondiwindi and Charleville. The South Western tour highlighted the success of the ongoing placement of nursing students with a range of providers within those regions but also highlighted the issues mainly around resources associated with placements in rural and remote locations. The Faculty is engaged in an ongoing strategy to improve as far as possible its management of such placements including the support and training of supervisors and the preparedness of students. The tour by the Departmental Head of Nursing and Midwifery of providers in the region in late 2009 has highlighted opportunities to expand further placements that the Faculty will be pursuing in 2010. In 2009, the Faculty was able through external funding to appoint two additional part-time Indigenous student support officers, providing further capacity to continue USQ’s on-going success with Indigenous students. In 2010 the intention is to pursue initiatives to further enhance the strong engagement with the source indigenous communities including those within the regions covered by the South Western tour. For example, in the first semester 2010 the Indigenous nursing student support team are working with USQ’s Indigenous marketing officer to update USQ’s Indigenous nursing brochures. These will be distributed at high schools in the western region during NAIDOC week celebrations to encourage Indigenous nursing enrolments for our 2011 intake. The above mentioned location of USQ nursing students on clinical placements within those regions contributes to this. The possibility of using these students as role models for local school students is under consideration.

**Artsworx activities directly into schools: Black Box Shakespeare School Tours, 12-16 Oct & 4 Nov Big Band, 18 Aug (Stanthorpe), 3 Sep (Chinchilla) & 13 Oct (Millmerran) (service provided free of charge) **Artsworx activities schools came to us: Threepenny Opera workshops 21-30 Aug (at USQ campus) Shakespeare in the Park Festival (SitpF) Twmba Workshops 25 Feb (in Queens Park) Shakespeare on the Bay Festival (SOTB) HB Workshops 18 Mar (at Seafront Oval - Hervey Bay) Children’s Festival performance, CHSHS 4/6 & Warwick SHS 3/6 (USQ campus) Archaeology Talk, Kingaroy SHS 27/5 & School of Total Education 27/5 (USQ Campus) 2010 so far: SITPF in-school tour to Downlands 5/3 (in lieu of Queens Park) SITPF school tour at USQ for St Mary’s Kingaroy 10/3 (in lieu of Queens Park) Big Band touring into high schools (locations yet to be determined) (service provided free of charge)

33 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Following research into USQ’s involvement with schools, it was clear that this

stakeholder perception was somewhat unfounded and the University needed to

implement a strategic communication plan to evidence the work undertaken with

this stakeholder group. The acquired knowledge gained from stakeholder

qualitative research ensured that the internal and external strategic communication

plans were founded and developed to improve USQ’s stakeholder relationships.

The strategy sought to affect the awareness levels, attitudes and behaviours of key

stakeholders by setting the direction for communication in the communities within

which USQ operates, and the government funding decision-makers. For the

stakeholder issue shown above, the following communication actions were

developed.

Communication actions to improve this issue:-

(1) Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations to initiate a Public Relations campaign to roll out to schools when the multi-layered approaches are identified from the review responses

(2) Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations to contact XXX for the school visit strategic plan

(3) Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations to contact XXX re Artsworx involvement in secondary schools

(4) Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations to target press releases in SW QLD relating to USQ activities

(5) Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations to continue with USQ insert into Toowoomba, Ipswich, Fraser Coast, Warwick, Stanthorpe, Goondiwindi, Dalby, Chinchilla, St George, Charleville and Roma newspapers. Insert to promote 2010 Year of Research

(6) Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations to contact the XXX to inquire about USQ’s involvement in primary schools

Communication Tools

Media Releases, Feature Articles, :

(1) Major review of school partner program; (2) School partner engagement policy; (3) Faculty of Education supported by schools in SQ Qld region; (4) SW Qld early learning centres; (5) Schools hosting student teachers on various school placements; (6) Professional development for educators/teachers; (7) Collaboration between the IDEAS research Group; (8) Faculty of Sciences expanding the availability and accessibility of its school engagement program; (9) Future Link; (10) Activities offered to teachers or students; (11) Faculty of Sciences joint funding project its partnership in PICSE; (12) Multi-faceted development and engagement

34 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

event at Roma, Goondiwindi and Charleville; (13) South West success of the ongoing placement of nursing students (14) Ongoing strategy to improve as far as possible its management of placements; (15) Dept Head of Nursing and Midwifery Tour of SW Qld to SQ region; (16) Appointment of Indigenous student support officers; (17) Enhancing strong engagement with Indigenous communities; (18) Indigenous Marketing Officer to update USQ’s nursing brochures; (19) USQ nursing students on clinical placements.

The research findings from the comprehensive qualitative stakeholder research

provided trending data of the key issues and concerns from various internal and

external stakeholder groups.

As described in Figure, USQ’s internal and external strategic communication

approach was formulated to progressively close the gap between stakeholders’

current and desired perceptions through implementation of the following

strategies:

1. Articulate the University’s corporate story and key messages and use

them as the basis of communication with all stakeholders

2. Establish and promote mechanisms for receiving, acknowledging and

acting on feedback about stakeholders’ expectations and perceptions

of USQ

3. Formalise the University’s corporate social involvement program and

promote it to all stakeholders

4. Formalise relationships with USQ Alumni and use them as key

influencers and advocates

5. Design and implement a targeted government relations program

aimed specifically at those funding decision-makers whose policy

areas support USQ’s strategic priorities

6. Refine and maintain targeted engagement programs with:

Regional councillors

Secondary schools in the regional areas where USQ operates

35 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Business leaders in USQ’s regional communities

7. Refine the University’s approach to regional media relations.

Figure 9: USQ’s Strategic Communication Approach

The implementation of USQ’s internal and external strategic communication plans

was developed to assist in positioning the University in the minds of its

stakeholders, in ways which would support the University to achieve the goals and

objectives outlined in its Strategic Plan 2009-2013. The strategic communication

plans were completely consistent with the University’s overall strategy.

A range of specific messages and communication tools was developed to implement

the strategies detailed earlier, and a customised set of media fact sheets was

Corporate story and key messages form the basis of all communication with

stakeholders

Promote the corporate social involvement program to all stakeholders

Monitor and address evolving stakeholder expectations and perceptions

Formalise

Alumni

relationships

Use Alumni as a key influencer

Refine and maintain

targeted engagement

programs with:

Regional councillors

Schools

Business leaders

Regional communities

Refine regional media

relations program

Targeted

government relations

program

36 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

formulated to cover specific messages including general information about USQ and

its importance to the regions. Other written communication tools included

brochures, a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document, and human interest stories of

relevance were planned to be more inclusive of local communities and outline

special events scheduled throughout 2009 and 2010.

A broad range of communication tools was utilised to build awareness and support

of USQ and to increase community awareness about the university so that USQ

became 'top of mind' when stakeholders thought about higher education and the

role of USQ. By targeting various types of communication and different levels of

information, several levels of influence were determined.

In order to measure the success of USQ’s strategic communication plan, it was

proposed that all aspects of the research, planning, and implementation were to be

evaluated to find out what aspects were successful, what aspects were

unsuccessful, and how perceived issues could be improved. In addition to

measuring whether the campaign objectives were met it was proposed to Senior

Management that USQ should consider using the following evaluation methods at

the conclusion of the campaign:

• Content analysis of media coverage to gain an understanding of how

effective the campaign was in conveying specific messages;

• Follow-up research of community groups to measure whether there

had been a change in community awareness and attitudes towards

USQ;

• Analysis to determine whether the funds spent on the campaign

achieved an outcome that delivered the desired benefits to USQ; and

• Follow-up research to assess how stakeholder groups viewed USQ

following the implementation of the strategic communication plans.

To assist with the development of the strategic communication plans a SWOT

(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis was used to categorise

known information into a logical order. A SWOT analysis is a classic strategic

37 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

planning tool and by using the framework of strengths and weaknesses, and

external opportunities and threats, it provided a simple way to assess how the

communication plans could best be implemented. Based on this analysis, a set of

objectives and goals for the University became clearer and a more objective overall

intelligence was identified to base decisions in developing the communication

plans.

38 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

SWOT Analysis

Figure 10: SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

• USQ has a good reputation

• Generally well-regarded

• Advertising and marketing

• Vital to the local economy; a major employer in the

region

• USQ is an important player in the local community

• Engaging the community through the Arts ie

Shakespeare in the Park

• Staff are well regarded / welcoming / positive

• Management team are well-regarded

• Engage certain stakeholder groups well (regional

councillors, schools)

• Established as a business success by targeting

distance education and international students –

online education

• Staff are dedicated / committed to the University

• USQ takes a personal approach to students; staff

don’t see students as numbers

• USQ is the only local University – it is the only University in Toowoomba.

• Inconsistent stakeholder engagement

• Lack of community engagement – broadly

communicating to all stakeholders the same way

• Not regarded as a prestigious university

• Staff don’t feel engaged by senior management

• Focus on distance education and international students

(no local focus)

• Perceived lack of strategy behind engagement

• Reluctance to engage effectively with media

• Lack of internal communication

• Perceived lack of direction (for staff)

• Lack of on-campus activities to attract students (on-

campus student experience)

• Identity is not clearly defined (external)

• The marketing and approach to marketing isn’t

resonating with the local community

• Perceived to be disorganised / confused / last minute /

under prepared

• The University isn’t demonstrating its ‘value’ to the local community.

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

• Build on reputation and raise community

awareness

• Develop and implement an effective media

engagement strategy

• Partner with other local education providers to

position Toowoomba as an Education City

• Be more visible in the local community (via events,

shop fronts etc)

• Identify research opportunities of relevance to

region

• Revisit partnerships with local businesses to

ensure relevance to graduates and to business

• More actively engage with Alumni and enlist their

input and support

• Improve the University’s relationship with key

government stakeholders

• Re-engage staff by demonstrating

accomplishments and future direction

• Leverage the support of Regional Councillors

• Increase the attractiveness of on-campus student

life – increase relevance to students

• Demonstrate credibility and the expertise of teaching staff.

• Damage to reputation through ongoing negative media

coverage

• A perceived lack of cohesion among senior

management

• The local community’s acceptance of international

students

• USQ could lose its appeal to the local community due

to its focus on international and distance education

• Lack of closure of the RoP process (internal and

external)

• Potential difficulties in securing government funding

• Lack of on-campus student life impacting on-campus

and local enrolments

• Lack of effective engagement with media resulting in a

distorted perception of USQ

• The loss of local support if the local community is

ignored

• Lack of attraction to the top percentile students – this

demographic finding other universities more attractive

• Changing student expectations and the changing

education landscape

• Increasing course costs making education prohibitive to many (post grad).

39 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

A Gantt chart for the strategic communication matrix project, was also created to

assimilate multiple communication tasks and timelines to implement the plans into

a single document. The Gantt chart clarified the process to focus work at the front

of a task timeline bringing together independent elements to achieve project

completion.

The Strategic Communication Matrix Gantt Chart (Figure 11) is shown below to

demonstrate the basis in developing the strategic communication plans.

40 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

.

Strategic Communication Matrix Project

Project Manager: Judy Halter

Date of Report: future 2010

Task Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

1 Interviews with USQ senior staff re stakeholder issues

2 Collate interview results

3 Document priority areas

4 Identify communication action to each stakeholder issue

5 Develop initial stakeholder group on system

6 Identify system requirements for USQ Strategic Communication Plan

7 Produce requirements report

8 Assistance from CorProfit Systems

9 Implement system for all stakeholder groups

10 Modify system as required

11 Continual surveillance of University issues

12 Identification of further key stakeholders

13 Focus groups and interviews with stakeholders

Figure 11: Strategic Communication Matrix Project

41

At the same time as the above stakeholder research was being conducted, the

University Council and senior management conducted a ‘Western Queensland

Outreach Tour’ of Darling Downs centres outside Toowoomba. The Office of

Corporate Communication and Public Relations was responsible for organising the

Tour with the aim to gain an understanding of the issues that confront people living

in rural communities and to discuss how USQ might further strengthen its research

and teaching collaborations to assist each region. Members of the Tour included

the USQ Chancellor, Deputy Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor

(Global Learning), and USQ’s five Faculty Deans. The tour was conducted over five

days in the major western towns of Dalby, Chinchilla, St George, Roma and

Charleville and included meetings for each member of the senior executive team

with individual businesses and government departments in each town, and lunch

and/or evening functions with current and past students.

USQ’s stakeholder knowledge of issues/perceptions in our Western Queensland

communities was collated and incorporated with the existing external stakeholder

group feedback which was gained through focus groups and telephone interviews

mentioned previously.

In October 2009 the Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations

presented the strategic internal and external communication plans to the executive

committee of the University, the Vice-Chancellor’s Committee. It was

demonstrated how USQ stakeholder groups impact on the University’s reputation,

but determining the value of the strategic communication plan to University senior

executives proved difficult, as the qualitative research results were personalised,

and the measurement for actioning stakeholder issues was dismissed as unviable

when gauging the effectiveness of listening to stakeholder perceptions and applying

communication strategies to enhance reputation and minimise reputation risk (USQ

VCC October 2009).

The budgetary resource requested by the Office of Corporate Communication and

Public Relations to implement the communication actions in response to USQ’s

stakeholder perceptions was questioned, because an acceptable measure to show

42 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

improvement in the gap analysis was weak and public monies (to the amount being

asked for) could not be allocated when results from expenditure could not be

proven. A budget of a much lesser amount than requested was approved and this

severely limited the communication actions that could be initiated.

2.2.4 MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN

The implementation of USQ’s strategic communication plans was developed to

assist in positioning the University in the minds of its stakeholders, in ways which

would support the University to achieve the goals and objectives outlined in its

Strategic Plan 2009-2013. It was demonstrated to the senior committee of the

University, the Vice-Chancellor’s Committee, how USQ stakeholder groups impact

on the University’s reputation, but determining the value of implementing the

internal and external strategic communication plans to present to University senior

executives proved difficult. The qualitative research was questioned and an

accurate measure on the effectiveness of resourcing the execution of the plans was

debated. The USQ Corporate Communication and Public Relations Office could not

provide a numeric measure which satisfied members of the Committee for the

resourcing requested to apply the communication strategies in response to

stakeholder perceptions (USQ VCC 2009). Senior executives are accountable for

their decisions when dealing with public money but how do communication

professionals provide a quantitative measure, showing profit maximisation, when

the area of expertise is defining and responding to subjective stakeholder

perceptions?

It might be assumed from the senior executive feedback to the results of this

intensive stakeholder research that the public relations profession is not highly

valued by senior university management. Unlike areas such as business

management improvement, marketing, or learning and teaching quality, strategic

communication is a relatively new field. Delivering value through the initiatives of

strategic communication is difficult to demonstrate when communication

professionals cannot provide acceptable measureable evidence.

43 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The problem was that there was a fundamental mismatch between what the

communication division produced to measure effectiveness and what the senior

managers can recognise as their benchmarks. Senior managers are appraised on

business outcomes, such as revenue, earnings and market share, but

communication professionals are only able to evaluate efforts by calculating the

outcomes of specific communication activities.

There are communication-measureable equations to show ‘Return on Investment’;

media tracking and analysis (the monitoring of a university’s coverage by the press

on various media vehicles such as television, cable, internet and radio (Weeks

2011)); stakeholder attitudes and advertising equivalencies (the calculation of space

or time used for publicity or news content by comparing it to the cost of that same

space or time if purchased as advertising (Rawlins 2010)), but these measurement

tools did not provide the value evidence required by the University leaders to fund

the recommended communication initiatives to address identified stakeholder

issues.

The resultant funding support to implement initiatives for internal and external

communication strategies at the University was accepted but on a much lesser

budget than was requested. The Office of Corporate Communication and Public

Relations implemented creative initiatives and produced results, but measurement

of communication outcomes was not accepted by all members of the senior

University executive.

It is interesting to note at this point that few circumstances test an organisation’s

reputation or competency as severely as a crisis. While USQ was contending with

negative media coverage as a result of the RoP, and the Office of Corporate

Communication and Public Relations was grappling to find a metric to satisfy senior

executives as to the value of implementing the strategic communication plans, a

crisis situation developed in Australia which had the potential to damage the

lucrative international student market. From a communication standpoint, a crisis

is an organisational problem that is exposed to public attention through the media

and, arguably, the most important document is the crisis communication plan and

44 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

the professionals who can implement strategies successfully to minimise

reputational risk. Reputation is ultimately a measure of trust and it is a challenge to

put a value against reputation risk. Damage to reputation is almost impossible to

measure before a crisis occurs and always easier after it. Damage is not just about

financial cost, immediate or deferred, but it is about what it leaves in the way of

diminished trust among stakeholders.

The significance of having a reliable measurement of reputation was evidenced

when Australian media reported on a number of violent attacks against

internationally enrolled Indian students who were studying in Australia. In order to

properly prepare for the immediacy of any negative fallout from such publicity,

corporate communication specialists and university senior executives need a highly

structured, relevant issues indicator to help promote and counter communication

messaging.

2.2.5 2010 VIOLENT ATTACKS ON INDIAN STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA

From January 2010, an emerging crisis developed following a series of violent

attacks on Indian students in Australia. It was reported in the Sydney Morning

Herald (April 13 2010) that Australia suffered real reputational damage, real

economic cost and real diplomatic disadvantage following Indian student attacks in

Victoria. A survey in India found Australia, previously considered the fifth most

welcoming country for Indians, was now 40th (Sydney Morning Herald April 2010).

As global media reports developed, the risk to USQ’s international student market

was unclear. Higher education is Australia’s third biggest export sector, worth $17

billion a year and the effects of the assaults were twofold (Sydney Morning Herald

April 2010). Firstly, the total number of Indians studying in Australia was down by 5

percent in 2010 compared to 2009, about 1500 students, when the numbers from

other major source countries were up. With the total average economic benefit to

Australia of more than $34,000 per student per year, this meant an annual cost of

approximately $50 million. Secondly, there was the loss of potential student

45 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

numbers. The number of new Indian enrolments was down by 40 percent in 2010

compared to the previous year (Sydney Morning Herald 2010).

Strategic communication actions were developed and implemented to reduce the

possible negative critical impact of declining international student numbers at USQ.

Profiles on international students studying at USQ were produced and these

appeared in Indian media provinces. The question of providing a communication

measurement value was never raised in the course of dealing with this crisis.

During this time, I worked closely with the University’s Audit and Risk Manager and

became aware of a company named CorProfit Systems. CorProfit Systems is an

Australian owned and managed company that has been assisting government

organisations in the design and implementation of risk management systems since

1998 (CorProfit 2013). CorProfit’s head office is in Sydney with branch offices in

Johannesburg, Dubai and Toronto. The Company’s aim is to transfer knowledge

which enables organisations to effectively deal with and manage risks to which they

might be exposed (CorProfit 2013).

The USQ RoP case study previously mentioned signalled interesting opportunities

and directions to investigate an appropriate measure and value in incorporating

community opinion in decision-making and identifying future strategic directions. I

sought to understand whether the CorProfit risk-management system could be

modified to provide a quantifiable measure of strategic communication initiatives,

and therefore be used to raise the profile and importance of the work of Public

Relations.

I consulted with the Director of Corporate Communications and Public Relations

about the possibility of modifying a risk management system to measure the

benefits of strategic communication. The Director suggested that this project

merited scope for a Doctoral level approach.

Rogers (1996) defines that advancement in the field of experiential learning

occurred when authors such as Mezirow, Freire and others stressed that the way

we process experience, and our critical response to experience, are central to any

46 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

conception of learning. They spoke of learning as a cycle that begins with

experience, continues with reflection and later leads to action, which itself becomes

a concrete experience for reflection (Rogers 1996).

As has been shown with examples, the higher education sector is required to

provide measurement and benchmarking to show continuous improvement. Today,

there is a constant need to measure and quantify activities and performance at

universities (Thomson Reuters 2010). Between November 2004 and January 2008,

Thomson Reuters commissioned and conducted a series of interviews with 89

college and university administrators in the United States, Canada, Australia, the

United Kingdom, and countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The

research yielded information about the context for performance measurement in

higher education (Thomson Reuters 2010). These leaders summed up the

importance of performance measurement as an investment in quality.

Measurements help them to set strategic goals, allocate budgets, and promote

their institution’s achievements to potential faculty, collaborators, funders, and

students (Thomson Reuters 2010).

Institutional leaders were clear: no one expects the need for performance measures

to abate (Thomson Reuters 2010). Institutions can no longer rely solely on peer

assessment and past reputation; they must be able to measure current

performance. Different institutions and different countries have varying needs, but

the research conducted by Thomson Reuters (2010) acknowledged that college and

university leaders worldwide stressed the requirement for objective, reliable data

when it comes to gathering and applying the information they use to determine

strategy and future direction at their respective institutions. They recognised the

increasingly important role played by metrics in tasks such as resource allocation,

fundraising, faculty evaluation, and program review (Thomson Reuters 2010), and

they are seeking the right combination of evaluative content and tools to

complement their current methodologies for measurement.

‘Demonstrating the value of Public Relations/Communication to organisations’ was

rated the single most important key to advocating success and promoting the value

47 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

of public relations and communication management in the 2011/2012 Global Public

Relations Advocacy Survey (Global Alliance 2012).

Postle, Burton and Danaher (2014), in their book, Community Capacity Building,

suggest that societies now demand that universities engage in ways that are

meaningful, mutually respectful and attuned to the problems and issues that

society sees as relevant. Effective community engagement allows universities to

tap into different perspectives and potential solutions to improve the quality of its

decisions, but living in a world where public monies must show profit maximisation

for every dollar spent is frustrating when there is no definable measure for

university executives to prove return-on-investment when engaging in strategic

communication initiatives.

2.2.6 CRITICAL INCIDENCES

Failing to produce a measurable metric to satisfy university senior executives when

implementing the 2009/2010 RoP internal and external strategic communication

plans and delivering communication actions to minimise reputational damage

during the 2010 international student crisis generated significant and powerful

learning experiences. These critical incidences demonstrate the reason for

undertaking this doctoral study to understand if the system developed could

provide a relevant issues indicator to help promote the value of strategic

communication in providing a reliable measurement of reputation.

2.3 THE PROBLEM

On the financial side, university senior executives are increasingly interested in

measuring communication activities in terms of market value. This is in part due to

having tighter budgets in a time of limited resources, but it is also the result of

having new executive communication KPIs which establish a direct link between a

university’s intangible assets and performances. Strategic communication is an

intangible, although it adds to the value, credibility and the ease with which

universities operate. With the development of additional scrutiny around public

48 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

monies, as well as the creation of industry standards, the connection between a

university’s communication activities, business outcomes and value creation

necessitated a more definable accepted value measurement.

Now, more than ever, Vice-Chancellors are not only the thought leader but the face

and voice of a university, setting the tone for the executive team and the university

as a whole. Senior executives who think that communications can be delegated to

the head of the corporate communication team are mistaken. In fact, in many

organisations, the CEO acts in effect as the senior communications officer of the

company.

As outcomes-based measures of communication develop, even the most reluctant

senior executives will see the demonstrated value that communications brings to

the implementation of strategy and will recognise the critical role they must play in

that effort.

The problem to be addressed in this study is to understand how a communication

measurement concept may deliver a quantitative performance indicator which

enables university senior executives to place a value on areas where it matters

most: its strategic communication to varied communities. Figure 12 shows the

author’s initial strategic communication measurement concept.

49

Figure 12: Initial strategic communication measurement concept

To explain further, a communication gap in an organisation means that the goals

and objectives that are set by management are either not communicated to

stakeholders or if communicated they have not been understood properly. If a

stakeholder doesn't understand what an organisation is saying - maybe because of

technical language, a foreign language or words of unknown meaning - that could

be a communication gap. Communication gaps result in confusion amongst

stakeholders, unclear motives, misaligned priorities and indecisive actions.

Understanding stakeholder perceptions and then developing strategic

communication actions to respond to issues results in corrective steps to rectify

problems. The dilemma is how to measure the value of planned strategic

communication initiatives to close the communication gap between an organisation

and its stakeholders.

Following strategic communication actions, would a determining risk measurement scale prove the

value of strategic communication so that senior executives are able to quantify resources against key

performance indicators?

Informational, attitudinal and behavioural improvement with stakeholders

Stra

tegi

c C

om

mu

nic

atio

n

acti

on

s

Qualitative research with internal and external stakeholders provides an organisation with the

platform to strategically plan communication activities.

This is where we are now

Ho

w can

we m

easure

strategic co

mm

un

ication

action

s?

50 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

2.3.1 THE AIM

The aim of this study is to understand the characteristics of current-state

communication needs of Australian universities by comparing the communication

practices and organisational performance of Australian university Communication

Directors congruent with the reputational demands of the workplace. It will be

determined if there is a need to measure strategic communication value to better

manage reputational issues in Australian universities and if the conceptual

paradigm of this research study should be further developed. The investigation will

action the research questions below:

» Do senior executive in Australian universities believe stakeholder

perceptions are important to overall reputation?

» Do Australian universities passively participate with their stakeholders, or

are they actively interacting to seek mutually beneficial outcomes?

» Is it important to measure the risk of public issues and opinions to form the

strategic direction of an organisation and to its overall reputation?

The thesis is primarily written from the perspective of an action research

practitioner and has been largely drawn from experiences and learnings as a public

relations specialist, supplemented later by rigorous academic research.

A sampling of Public Relations Departments in Australian universities was

undertaken and an audit of current communication strategies was carried out to

identify the potential development of a concept to measure the value of

communicating strategically.

The concept of building a system to measure the value of strategic communication

was established prior to commencing the Doctorate of Professional Studies (DPST)

program at USQ. The indicator for communication measurement appeared of

strategic importance, but further research was required to understand whether the

model reached beyond exemplars suggested in current literature, and to explore

the relevance of communication measurement in the higher education sector.

51 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Through this doctoral research, it is anticipated that the study will increase

foundation knowledge to benefit the discipline of Public Relations, and to my

personal and professional development.

2.3.2 APPROACH

The approach adopted, and the methods of data collection selected, depends on

the study and the type of information required. This study explores communication

practices within the Australian Higher Education Sector to deliver a better

understanding of the current practices and value that universities place on

measuring strategic communication.

As Richard Hackman (1992) said ‘The research question should drive the

methodology . . . we take as a given whatever methodology we are comfortable

with or skilled in using and then adjust our research questions to fit’.

The processes and methodology informing the study, and the subsequent

development of this thesis, are founded on the approaches, processes and actions

associated with work-based learning and action research (Armsby 2000, Armsby

2012, Cherry 1999, Costley 2010, Dick 2002, Garnett 2009, Lester 2004, McNiff

2000, Williams 2004, Zuber-Skerritt 2002) and the personal learning philosophies

adopted by Kitchener (2006), Peters (2009) and Whitehead (2012).

In part, this study also considers how some universities have adopted a

philosophical approach to strategic communication which impacts on their quality,

effectiveness and responsiveness to their stakeholders, especially in times of crisis.

Integral to this economic rationalist approach is the reliance on a university’s

abilities to operate efficiently and effectively in environments where change is

constant.

Dick (2002) says that by using qualitative approaches quite imprecise research

questions and methods can be used. These imprecise answers he says then help

refine future questions and methods. Each cycle can be a step in the direction of

better action and better research (Dick 2002).

52 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

A relevant description of work based learning is provided by Armsby who states:

In work based learning, research, development and reflective practice are

located within a real social and work based community that gives them

meaning rather than in a hypothetical or devised scenario. The focus is in

‘real’ research and development projects and reflection on ‘real’ pragmatic

and applied activities is what makes work based learning meaningful to

practitioner researchers … a variety of influences within the organisation

and the individual affect the worker researcher’s perceptions and choice of

methodology. These must be acknowledged and considered to enable a real

project outcome or product (Armsby 2000, p 42).

In conclusion, the research approach, planning and development outlined in this

thesis have been founded on the contemporary notions of work-based learning and

action research. This has contributed new knowledge and a practical contribution

to the professional theory and practice of public relations.

The following literature review provides the reader with a synopsis of:

» the public relations terms needed to understand this study; and

» an examination of previous research to identify the critical points of

current knowledge, including substantive findings.

53 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This literature review explores the definitions and themes relating to the research

questions as proposed by the inferences in chapter two:

» Do senior executive in Australian universities believe stakeholder

perceptions are important to overall reputation?

» Do Australian universities passively participate with their stakeholders, or

are they actively interacting to seek mutually beneficial outcomes?

» Is it important to measure the risk of public issues and opinions to form the

strategic direction of an organisation and to its overall reputation?

To appreciate the value of measuring strategic communication, I have examined

what other researchers have written to gain a more in-depth understanding of the

relevancy of this study. While it is not possible to refer to every piece of literature

in the field of public relations, I have chosen topics which relate to my area of

research.

The scope of this review provides an academic framework around the above

questions by examining the significance of the general field of study, then

identifying where a new contribution could be made. The following literature

review provides the basis on which intellectual and applied analysis can be made.

The intent of the literature review is to show ‘that the writer has studied existing

work in the field with insight’ (Haywood and Wragg 1982). While the term ‘public

relations’ seems rather simple, the discipline has evolved and advanced through

many phases since its inception, but unfortunately the term ‘public relations’ is still

often misused and misunderstood. This is largely because it encompasses such a

broad range of philosophies and techniques being conducted by a wide range of

practitioners.

In this review an overview of the origin of public relations is provided to give clarity

and greater understanding of past and present practice. The way the profession

54 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

has evolved demonstrates parallel development in addressing the research

questions of public relations measurement and evaluation.

To further explicate public relations terms needed to understand this study, later in

this chapter the review will evaluate the differences between public relations and

marketing and reputation and brand, before looking at the roles of leadership and

management. Communication practices in contemporary universities and

organisational culture and climate will be examined subsequent to investigating

current trends in public relations measurement.

3.1.1 EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE

Although opinions differ about the exact origins of public relations, it is generally

accepted that the underlying objective of public relations was to influence the

public and mould their opinions. Public relations has been utilised by individuals,

corporations and groups throughout history to induce understanding and develop

good rapport with different audiences. Public relations industrialised as a

professional endeavour in the 20th Century, most conspicuously in the United

States, but its roots, both philosophical and pragmatic, can be traced throughout

civilisation.

While theorists believe that public relations was born with the Neanderthal's

trading techniques, the earliest concrete roots of public relations can be traced back

to around 1800 BC in the Middle East (Cutlip 1995). Archeologists unearthed farm

bulletins in Iran that exhibit a primitive attempt to influence farmers to use certain

techniques. This type of public relations can be evidenced by ancient writings,

pottery, hieroglyphs, and art. Other exact examples of archaic public relations can

be found in Caesar's commentaries (Nolte 1974), as it was common practice to try

and sway the population's opinion on rulers and leaders of the land.

The Catholic Church was one of the first organisations to employ a public relations

group to help their cause. They formed the 'Society for the Propagation of the

Faith' to raise public opinion of Roman Catholics and increase the membership of

the Church. It is from this organisation that we get the term ‘propaganda’ which is

55 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

used with a considerably broader meaning in public relations today (Nolte 1974).

‘The difference between propaganda and public relations is that propaganda

presents an issue by focusing only on the good, and its success depends on a biased

view of the issue. Public relations, on the other hand, strives to present an

unbiased view and, in so doing, seeks to achieve mutual understanding between an

institution or organisation and its publics’ (Du Plessis 2000).

Public relations as a career, and modern public relations in general, owes itself to

three key men: Ivy Lee (1877-1934), Carl Byoir (1886-1957), and Edward L. Bernays

(1891-1995) (Hiebert 1988). Lee is credited with making United States businessmen

more communicative about their businesses by using press releases, providing more

information rather than less, and listening to the opinion of the press and the

public, which no one had really done before.

Carl Byoir, another early pioneer of public relations, concentrated on looking for

what drove public opinion to support his client’s objectives. He designed one of the

first successful public relations campaigns that advanced the work of a press agency

to a more professional business (Spector 1997). As an accomplished strategist,

Byoir led several other public relations campaigns and was asked and agreed to be a

part of the United States Committee on Public Information, a year before Edward

Bernays entered the organisation.

Edward L. Bernays is known as the father of modern public relations. He invented

techniques that are still observed in the public relations career field today. Bernay's

techniques were positioned on the heavy use of psychological influence and

manipulation. He initially analysed the client’s problem and then analysed his

stakeholders. His 1920s philosophy was quite comprehensive, but the defining

difference in public relations today lies in the efforts to match both the client and

stakeholder needs, as it is no longer acceptable to manipulate the public to achieve

good business results.

It is unfortunate that many still associate negative connotations to the public

relations profession because of campaigns run more than 100 years ago. Creating a

56 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

‘shift’ in the perception of public relations from stakeholder manipulation to

stakeholder engagement is made more difficult by the historical functions of the

profession.

While these key figures cultivated public relations, they were shaping the history of

the United States. During the 1920s, Americans created a consumer culture in

which automobiles, home appliances, and other goods were purchased at an

unprecedented rate. Advertising helped to fuel this desire to purchase, and the

popularity of radio and motion pictures helped to create a more uniform national

culture. With the conception of democracy the value of public relations became

more obvious; practices of persuasion and influence were utilised to bring a

consensus between the multitudes of stakeholders, but without effective

dissemination of facts, interaction between groups and an exchange of ideas, a

democratic society could not succeed.

Although Edward Bernays is often cited as the most influential figure of public

relations practice, it was Arthur Page who introduced systematic opinion research

into corporate public relations and organisational communication. He championed

the use of surveys which were to be an important factor in developing a customer-

facing culture. ‘He deserves credit for recognising the need for feedback and

encouraging development of systems to gauge the moods of publics. Integration of

formal feedback systems into the public relations function is one of his

contributions to public relations practice’ (Griese 2001, p. 122).

This timeline narrative provides a brief overview of the evolution of public relations

as it is important for the reader to understand how a profession that can be traced

back to biblical times has not addressed the issue of evaluation and measurement.

While the first exhibitions of public relations were inadvertent and simply an

attempt at persuasion, the later uses were well crafted and took on more of the

aspects we relate to public relations today. As people began to see how important

it was to gain the support and help of the public, groups began to employ strategy

and technique in an attempt to reach the optimum number of people while

57 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

achieving maximum results. Public relations professionals and organisations began

to monitor press coverage as a way of measuring the value of their and others’

activities, but these measurement techniques were often distorted as initial

attempts to show potential clients the value of public relations activities were

excessively biased.

In 1942, Harlow wrote that public relations practitioners and their employers

‘should not be impressed by sheaves of press clippings’ (p. 43) as a volume indicator

of what was going on. Most books on public relations across the initial 40-50 year

period discussed measurement of the volume of press coverage, its length in

column inches and whether it was positive or negative. The creation of the

clippings or cuttings book became an art form with thick card paper on which

clippings were mounted. Plackard and Blackmon gave this advice in 1947: ‘The

publicist must learn the art of “pepping up” publicity results. Publicity clippings as

such are not sufficiently interesting to show to a client. However, they can be

dressed up or dramatised in unusual ways’ (p. 299). Examples given included ‘trick

photography’ by blowing cuttings up and then printing large sheets of folded card

on which they were placed; graphic presentation of cuttings beneath newspaper

mastheads; and displays on large display boards, especially in hall corridors to

emphasise the volume.

Although professional public relations has certainly been misused from time to

time, its record of historical achievement suggests a much deeper and abiding

respect for, and adherence to, openness and honesty in its dealings and

communications. Publicity had always continued as a practice, but it was seen as a

delivery sub-set of public relations. The mid-century view, expressed by Griswold

and Griswold (1948), was that public relations was a management function to

create relationships and ‘earn public understanding and acceptance’ (p. 4).

Plackard and Blackmon (1947) separated public relations, as ‘the administrative

philosophy of an organisation’ which ‘stems from corporate character and over-all

operations’ from publicity, which was ‘the art of influencing opinion by special

58 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

preparation and dissemination of news’ (p. 14). Communication or publicity was

therefore delivery and dialogue processes, but not public relations itself.

That view changed quickly as consumer products were developed and notions of

corporate and product brands grew. Public relations lost that holistic concept and

became typified by publicity practices. L’Etang (2004), writing about the 1960s,

summarised the changed situation as: ‘business managers saw public relations as a

cheap way of getting media coverage in comparison with advertising’. As a

profession we had returned to past practices of swaying public opinion through

media channels in an attempt to manipulate the populace. During the 1960s, the

parallel impact on public relations measurement and evaluation was a move away

from the social science-led emphasis on public opinion research to a more

pragmatic analysis of media coverage, which was to dominate the second half of

the 20th century.

Beginning in the late 1970s enterprises began understanding the consumer

movement and vowed to keep the public educated so that each individual could

exercise ‘sound judgment’ (Pearson 1990). As a natural response to a rapidly

changing society, public relations was forced to grow and metamorphose. As the

community culture became increasingly specialised and complex, public relations as

a profession began to mature. Organisations sought the assistance of public

relations professionals more readily to engage with their communities. The big

companies and businesses that profited from the technological boom were no

longer in touch with the community. Their sights were too large to relate to

individual consumers and they took for granted the public that kept them afloat.

All this condescension among big corporations bred an overwhelming anti-business

sentiment (Pearson 1990). Public relations came back in force to convey big

business sentiments to the population. Seeing how the tide of public notions

affects their industry, entrepreneurs and professionals changed their tune from that

of ‘damn the public’ to ‘inform the public’ (Pearson 1990).

59 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Since the industries and entities represented by public relations have become

accountable, the field of public relations has gained a lot of respect for being honest

and not just fooling the public.

In the past, public relations exhausted all available outlets for disseminating

information and, as designs grew more complex and inventions became more

common, public relations was strengthened. The telephone, television and radio all

helped foster the public relations industry and facilitate its expansion. Over the last

three decades the public relations industry has been enhanced by the advent of

more convenient technology. Agencies are now able to utilise satellites to transmit

information much faster and more efficiently. In addition to being able to reach

multitudes of people almost effortlessly, software and computing techniques are

making the transmissions more professional and persuasive with graphics and

designs. The common-place of computers has also fueled the explosion of public

relations and would seem to dictate that the industry could only be headed upward

(Newsom 1993).

Today, public relations has developed into a multimillion-dollar industry. Most

modern developments in public relations are linked with political reform

movements, as public relations is an important part of politics, playing a major part

in who becomes elected and what laws are passed. Politicians use public relations

to keep themselves in good standing with the public, which is very necessary for

their job. What began as mere publicity has grown to include many other uses,

from interpreting public opinion and its impact on an organisation to researching

ways of helping a business to maintain its goals.

In 2014, the definition of public relations as adopted by the Public Relations

Institute of Australia (PRIA) is, ‘Public relations is the deliberate, planned and

sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an

organisation (or individual) and its (or their) publics. It's the key to effective

communication in all sectors of business, government, academic and not-for-profit’

(PRIA 2014). Philip Lesly's Handbook of Public Relations and Communication

60 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

describes public relations simply as: helping an organisation and its publics adapt

mutually to each other (Lesly 1997).

The evolution of public relations practices outlined in this section have shown that

the fascination of practitioners with media relations strategies and tactics have

remained consistently prominent. Methods described by Batchelor (1938) and

Harlow (1942), such as frequency, reach, and tonality of media references are

widely-demanded practices in measurement and evaluation. Validating a

communication measurement is important as it is the evidence that shows if change

leads to improvement. Measurement is the foundation in establishing credibility.

However, academic discussion of measurement and evaluation has taken more than

70 years to gain traction, with the 1970s being the starting point (Watson 2003).

By 1990 the range of methods for research into the effectiveness of public relations

had been well-established and excellently presented in Broom and Dozier’s seminal

text (1990). Yet, despite extensive discussion in academic journals and books

(Broom and Dozier 1990; Stacks 2002; Watson and Noble 2007), no applied theory

of public relations measurement and evaluation has been developed. Methods

have been adapted from social sciences and market research, but no theory

proposed. As Watson (2003) says, perhaps this signifies an immature profession,

which is unconfident in its practices.

It appears that the public relations profession became lost in the 1960s as practice

returned to responsibilities of increasing publicity to gain organisational advantage.

It was a time of enormous change and computer technological advances launched

the age of information. The need to measure and evaluate public relations

activities stalled as many practitioners monitored activities by simple measurement

of volume. The Author agrees with Watson (2003) that the approaches of public

relations have a considerable history, and early efforts to search for a method of

measurement were suspended through the repetition of themes during the

emergence of the information age.

In recent years, public relations professionals have moved toward an emphasis on

building and maintaining organisations’ internal and external relationships and on

61 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

becoming skilled, active counsellors at the executive-level decision-making table.

Driving this latest evolutionary movement are influential societal trends: global

business operations; the empowerment of public opinion within the global

community; segmented, fragmented audiences; the information explosion that has

led to uncontrolled, gateless dissemination of messages; increasing government

regulation and oversight; issues of diversity and multiculturalism in the workplace;

and the introduction of technology, including automation and computerisation.

The next section reviews the maturing of the public relations profession, specifically

the role of the strategic communicator in the arena of public relations.

3.1.2 STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION

Communication is one aspect of an organisation that is often unappreciated

because communication is continuous and takes place in so many forms. However,

communication in a strategic sense is much more than simply creating awareness.

It is a way to create the effects and outcomes needed to achieve results. The

communication strategy is a plan that serves as a blueprint when significant events

or issues arise, as it assists to organise information that needs to be communicated,

identifies concerns that may be raised, and ensures the proper audiences are

reached. It is a key tool driving the success of organisations.

What does it mean to be strategic? Strategy is the art and science of directing a

systematic plan of action toward a specific, intended result (Walkington 2011). It

entails linking clear objectives to actions, evaluated to assess the result (Walkington

2011). Strategic communication planning, then, is the process of guiding alignment

between the communication function and an organisation’s core objectives. It is

about aligning organisation work groups, departments, divisions and external

stakeholders with its overarching goals and objectives. Strategic communication

requires deliberately developing plans, tactics and messages to help promote

reputation and performance.

Being strategic is a state of mind - taking a step back from the noise to consider how

communication activities contribute to an organisation’s desired end state (Kealey

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2009). It is also about finding creative solutions to help an organisation maximise

positive opportunity for profile or goodwill, while minimising potential risk

exposure. There is nothing more relevant to the communications function than

contributing strategic value.

The most successful strategic communication endeavours not only aim to

communicate in order to influence a target public or to advance an organisation’s

mission, but encompass rational debate to achieve understanding, dialogic

communication and authenticity. Public relations as a profession matured from its

origin of manipulating public opinion with communication messages to considering

the public’s needs, concerns and expectations.

Further maturation of public relations can be observed in The Structural

Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois

Society, where Jurgen Habermas postulates that the concept of a public sphere was

formed when journalism became a public institution with the aim of promoting

public debate (1987 p. 182). Strategic communication practitioners began to apply

this concept to facilitate rational debate and achieve understanding among target

publics. While debates are rarely conclusive, they constitute a complex source of

social power, trust and legitimacy for individuals and organisations both in private

and government settings (Jensen 2002).

According to Habermas, a public sphere is formed when citizens communicate,

either face-to-face or through letters, journals, newspapers or other mass media, in

order to express their opinions about matters of general interest, and to subject

these opinions to rational discussion (Edgar 2005, p. 30). For Habermas, the success

of the public sphere is dependent upon rational and critical discussion where all

participants are able to equally engage, and achieving audience understanding is

the ultimate goal. There is a clear distinction between achieving understanding and

achieving consensus. The concepts and preconditions of the public sphere are still

relevant and should be further developed to reflect on public relations as a

profession in its societal context (Jensen 2002).

63 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

New technologies and digital communication platforms demonstrate ways in which

various publics, including lay people and experts, can collaborate and communicate

openly to achieve understanding. For example, the online news forum The

Conversation is an independent source of analysis, commentary and news from the

university and research sector (Jaspan 2012). It aims to provide a space in which

individuals and organisations can engage in public debate and discussion across a

diverse range of topical issues of concern. One of the key objectives of The

Conversation is to make evidence-based content accessible and useful to both

experts and lay publics by combining ‘academic rigour with journalistic flair’ (Jaspan

2012). In many ways, The Conversation exemplifies a contemporary working public

sphere, as it embodies Habermasian values and attributes and puts them into

practice.

Digital platforms like The Conversation are arguably setting a new standard for

ethical journalism, news reporting and more broadly strategic communication, by

challenging traditional content creation and dissemination processes, and

deliberately refuting accepted views of the industry as untrustworthy,

sensationalist, and biased. It has become clear that in today’s contemporary

communication environment organisations can no longer simply ‘deliver’ key

messages to disengaged and passive publics.

It was shown in chapter two, through the negative publicity received following

USQ’s RoP Review, that stakeholders have the potential to negatively impact on a

university’s reputation if they perceive a lack of strategic engagement. Successful

strategic communication is about meaningful engagement and building

relationships with key audiences. In the areas of welfare, health, crime,

employment, education and the environment, achieving significant progress

requires the active involvement and cooperation of citizens (Australian Public

Service Commission 2007).

Since the development of digital communication and the 24-hour news cycle,

audiences are relentlessly bombarded with a multitude of communication

messages. The result is that audiences are hugely accessible to communication

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professionals, and are more discerning when it comes to the products they

purchase, the brands they align themselves with, and the messages they choose to

take on board. The need to convey authenticity and transparency in

communication is more important now than ever before. Organisational actions

can be communicated or exposed to global audiences within a matter of seconds,

better educated publics process information in greater quantities, and an increase

in online activist and consumer groups has decreased the probability that a

problematic organisational action will slip under the radar (Botan 1997).

If organisations strategically share who they are, their values, their knowledge and,

importantly, their mistakes, they will appear more visible, genuine, and available

when engaging with publics and when future public relations and communication

opportunities arise. If organisations mask their identities with an expectation of

avoiding public scrutiny, they risk compromising their credibility as a leader or

trusted source in their field and with their audiences.

Strategic communication is about more than merely planning for the long term,

implementing a set of tactics, and being aware of the ever changing external

communication environment. It’s about fostering rational debates to achieve

understanding among publics’ working within a dialogic communication paradigm

to build relationships, and recognising the importance of maintaining authenticity in

organisational messaging.

In the contemporary communication setting where digital communication platforms

are now widely available, organisations and individuals are constantly under

scrutiny, and any weaknesses can be very rapidly and very publicly unearthed. The

field of strategic communication would arguably attract less criticism and scepticism

if practitioners adopted an underlying principle of authenticity, and worked towards

the Habermasian concept of a public sphere.

The Author agrees with Shayna Englin (2013) that being strategic means

communicating the best message, through the right channels, measured against

well-considered organisational and communication specific goals. It’s the

65 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

difference between doing communications stuff, and doing the right

communications stuff (Englin 2003). Tom Keleher, Chair of the School of

Communications at the University of Hawaii, said that the opposite of strategic

communications is ‘seat of the pants’ communications (Keleher 2013).

Warren Mason, Professor of Business and Communication Studies at Plymouth

State University in New Hampshire, says that in his course, strategic communication

is about dealing with ‘issues that might jeopardize an organisation’s very survival’,

and nothing to do with marketing (Mason 2013).

To Mason, it’s about ‘Issues Management/Planning’ and is an effort to anticipate

problems and crises before they occur. Mason says, ‘For example, with an internal

audience, such as employees, this planning could include planning for a potential

layoff by management or a strike by employees. As to external threats, this could

be anything from a fire or explosion at a place of employment, to an oil spill

improperly handled by a large oil company, or workplace violence anytime,

anywhere’. These issues can be internally or externally driven, and call for a

strategic communication plan, meticulous implementation, and diplomatic follow-

up. ‘Proper media relations, both during and after these scenarios, will drive

perceptions in the court of public opinion and greatly impact the organisation’s

image and reputation’ (Mason 2013).

Our collective future depends on all components of our societies and all sectors of

our economies communicating and functioning with greater effectiveness for the

public good.

Over the last two decades, the term ‘strategic communications’ has become more

prevalent. It means infusing communication efforts with an agenda and a master

plan. Typically, that master plan involves promoting the reputation of an

organisation. The field of communications is broad, encompassing professionals

who create news or want to push information to the public (public relations, public

information), people who deliver news and media to the public (journalists), and

people who study the interplay of media and society (researchers).

66 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The leaders of institutions need to understand the attitudes and values of their

publics in order to achieve institutional goals. In 2011/12, the Public Relations

Society of America (PRSA) led an international effort to modernise the definition of

public relations. PRSA initiated a crowdsourcing campaign and public vote that

produced the following definition:

Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually

beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics (PRSA 2012).

This research has shown that the definition succinctly describes the basic concept of

public relations - as a communication process, one that is strategic in nature and

emphasising ‘mutually beneficial relationships’. Taking a structured approach to

communication, based on identifying perceived stakeholder issues and defining

how outcomes can be reached, is achieved through a strategic communication plan.

This study will determine the practices of corporate communication offices in the

Australian university sector to understand whether senior executives believe

stakeholder perceptions are important to overall reputation, and to investigate

current procedures and measurement for interacting with stakeholders to seek

mutually beneficial outcomes.

The next section provides context to the various elements involved in creating a

strategic communication plan.

3.1.3 THE ELEMENTS OF A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN

In helping to define and implement policy, the public relations practitioner uses a

variety of professional communication skills and plays an integrative role both

within the organisation and between the organisation and the external

environment (PRSA, 2013).

The following diagram (Figure 13) shows Argenti’s Corporate Communication

Strategy Framework where communication messages are channelled through to

constituencies for feedback before a decision is made whether to revise the

67 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

message or proceed. The Framework shows how to communicate effectively with

an organisation’s stakeholders.

A strategic communications plan defines strategic, actionable goals, and

implements an approach and plan to guide communicators and others in designing,

preparing and executing strategic communications. It frames internal and external

communications, and clarifies priorities, target audiences, resources, media

activities and staff assignments.

The document devises a strategic framework around communications, recommends

appropriate communication tools, guides key messaging, strengthens reputation

and positions an organisation for each stakeholder group, given the diversity and

different needs, drivers and channels of these audiences.

The elements are basically the same whether the institution is a business, trade

union, government agency, voluntary association, hospital, school, university or

religious institution. To achieve their goals, organisations must develop effective

Figure 13: Power of Corporate Communication - Argenti 2007

68 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

relationships with many different audiences or publics such as employees,

members, customers, local communities, shareholders and other institutions, and

with society.

A communications plan affirms and is driven by the organisation's goals and

outcomes, its vision, as expressed in a mission statement, and its values and beliefs.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) describes the strategic

communication plan as a management function which encompasses the following:

» Anticipating, analysing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues

that might impact, for good or ill, the operations and plans of the

organisation;

» Counselling management at all levels in the organisation with regard to

policy decisions, courses of action and communication, taking into account

their public ramifications and the organisation’s social or citizenship

responsibilities;

» Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs of

action and communication to achieve the informed public understanding

necessary to the success of an organisation’s aims. These may include

marketing, financial; fund raising’ employee, community or government

relations, and other programs;

» Planning and implementing the organisation’s efforts to influence or change

public policy. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training

staff, developing facilities - in short, managing the resources needed to

perform all of the above (PRSA 2014, p. 6).

When Bill Gates left Microsoft in 2008, he took two staff members with him, his

Chief Financial Officer and his Strategic Communication Advisor. Named as one of

the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune Magazine, Gates is quoted in

his biography by Rodney Ohebsion (2012):-

69 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

‘It’s important to have someone who you totally trust, who is totally

committed, who shares your vision, and yet who has a little bit different set

of skills and who also acts as something of a check on you. Some of the

ideas you run by him, you know he’s going to say, “Wait a minute, have you

thought about ...”’, Bill Gates.

So what does a public relations/strategic communication advisor do? Melcrum

(2013) states that professionals add value to an organisation through:-

» Business knowledge

» Stakeholder understanding

» An ear to the ground

» Speaking people’s language

» Making the complex simple

» Raising awareness, spotting the ‘what’s in it for me’

» Taking the helicopter view

» Developing plans, advising on channels

» Implementing the plans.

It is acknowledged in the Melcrum Pty Ltd Black Belt Program (2013) that the

following steps are essential in the development of a strategic communication

plan:-

1. State the business needs

2. Define the communication objectives

3. Set out the measure

4. Understand and segment audiences

5. Develop key messages

6. Develop approaches and tactics

7. Define roles and responsibilities (p. 2:2).

To explain and give further understanding of the elements included in a one page

strategic communication plan, an example of USQ’s Office of Corporate

70 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Communication and Public Relations external strategic communication plan appears

in Figure 14.

71 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Figure 14: Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations Communication Plan

72

It has been shown leaders understand that communicating strategically with

stakeholders is important; we can produce communication plans to assist the

business objectives of an organisation, but the gap still appears to be in our ability

to produce sound metrics to measure the benefits of delivering this overall

intelligence. For this reason, it is very often that credit is not afforded to the

communication department.

The practice of public relations has transformed markedly over the last 100 years

from one of manipulation and propaganda to the more common practice of

research and stakeholder engagement. Professionals are commonly questioned

about the terms of marketing and public relations so, to provide clarification, the

next section provides a brief outline of marketing and public relations, and

reputation and brand.

3.2 PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING

Some refer to the confusion between marketing and public relations as a ‘turf war’.

As public relations professionals, we are often asked how public relations differs

from marketing. It’s easy to describe from a tactical point of view, however the

difficulty often lies in articulating how each role contributes to business success.

Public relations is often misunderstood, and it is probably the fault of the public

relations industry that most people are not sure about the role of public relations.

Much depends on the public relations professional’s role within an organisation.

Does he or she report to the CEO, or service the marketing department? Such

categorisation can hide the wider role of public relations as a form of

communication designed to aid in generating understanding among stakeholders,

rather than just achieving awareness and publicity. When working in the marketing

field, the public relations manager can, therefore, suffer from misunderstandings

about his or her role as a particular kind of communicator. Research has indicated

that the traditional marketing mix approach can prove very restrictive (Gummesson

1987) in strategy development, particularly as it appears unsuited to the modern

dynamic environment of public relations (O’Malley and Patterson 1998).

73 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The Public Relations Society of America defines ‘public relations’ as:

Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually

beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics (PRSA 2012).

The American Marketing Association defines ‘marketing’ as:

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing,

promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges

that satisfy individual and organisational goals (AMA 2013).

Though related, I believe that marketing and public relations are very different

strategies as there are four key areas of difference:

1. Traditionally, marketing is paid advertising and public relations focuses on

purpose-driven, active dialogue with an organisation’s stakeholders with the

goal of developing visibility and a positive corporate reputation. Marketing

efforts require financial investment to purchase advertising space or to

sanction a campaign. Public relations is focused on creating awareness,

goodwill and a climate of opinion amongst stakeholders that will translate

into support for the organisation.

2. Marketing focuses on the market and building sales, and public relations is a

management function that helps an organisation build healthy, mutually

supportive relationships with all its key publics, both internal and external.

3. Marketing is about finding the right creative angle to package products or

services in ways that draw an audience. Public relations on the other hand

focuses on reducing conflict and improving cooperation with an

organisation’s stakeholders.

4. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between marking and public relations

is the level of control. Marketing has full authority over promotional

materials, as they enjoy paid advertising. With public relations, once a story

is released there is no control over how the media presents information.

74 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Public relations uses media as a communication channel in a more

traditional way with the tone of a news story.

The key to public relations is that it does not just happen, but rather is a process

that is planned and controlled (Argenti 2007). Another definition highlights the

importance of ‘objectives’:

Public relations consists of all form of communications outwards and inwards,

between an organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific

objectives concerning mutual understanding (Jefkins, 1994, p. 84).

The stress here is on ‘specific objectives’ - if there are specific, measureable

objectives it then becomes possible to evaluate results. This makes public relations

accountable, cost-effective and tangible. To be successful, and justify the effort and

cost, a public relations program has to be organised like a marketing strategy, an

advertising campaign or a production schedule. The nature of public relations can

be seen as solving problems and changing attitudes, which is rather more complex

than the one so often advanced of seeking favourable images, favourable coverage

and favourable climates of opinion (Jefkins 1994).

According to Center and Jackson (2003) the public relations practitioner serves two

masters - the first is their employer and the second is the public interest. The

media, they suggest, often stands between the two.

The ongoing challenge is to track and rate public relations activities against specific

KPIs. We can use ‘media monitors’ to document when and where a story was

published and compare that coverage to what it would cost to buy the space (AVE,

advertising value equivalents). We can also look at readership figures, the number

of times a key message appears in a piece of editorial, and by conducting awareness

research. Marketing is more trackable, directly related to a promotion, to a lead,

but the true breadth or power of public relations is much broader.

75 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

As Jane Toohey, a Melbourne-based marketing and business consultant, said, ‘It

seems that justifying the value of public relations is a battle, especially if the client

does not fully believe in the value of public relations’ (WNA Blog 2012).

It has been shown that the roles and responsibilities of public relations and

marketing professionals vary depending on the position required within an

organisation. The Author strongly contends that these roles are different, and

confusion, both within and outside organisations, is fuelled by grouping the two

professions into one department. The marketing profession appears to have

advanced as CEOs are able to produce a KPI for expenditure for this function.

Wealth creation through marketing activities can be measured in universities

through the number of student applications, number of enrolments, number of

dollars brought to the university per student load, completion rates and graduation

rates. Public relations objectives continue to go unmeasured in a form that CEOs

can recognise and benchmark against a KPI. This tension between public relations

and marketing has been heightened by changing government policy (less funding

afforded to public relations as it cannot be shown how resources allocated to public

relations activities raises a significant component to budgets).

At USQ, marketing, corporate communication, public relations, events, employee

communication, external and community relations, and branding activities are

currently undertaken by disparate work areas. Whilst all of these areas have

components of their responsibilities which relate to strategic communication,

stated goals and objectives are the functional domain of the Office of Corporate

Communication and Public Relations (among a diverse range of other functions

performed by this work area). However, while the Office of Corporate

Communication and Public Relations is responsible for the development of a

strategic framework and plan, and the provision of supporting tools and tactics for

internal and external communication, the actual implementation and operation of

any strategy and action is the responsibility of all USQ executives, managers and

employees.

76 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Through this study, the role of public relations professionals in the Australian higher

education sector will be investigated. The response will provide increased

understanding in knowing if a system that measures stakeholder consultation will

be beneficial to the Australian university sector.

The next section examines the difference between an organisation’s reputation and

an organisation’s brand.

3.2.1 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPUTATION AND BRAND

Reputation is a much used word today. Pick up a newspaper and turn to the

business, sport or travel section and you will find the word reputation in relation to

a person, organisation or place. The terms ‘brand’ and ‘reputation’ are frequently

confused and often used inaccurately. Many executives talk about corporate

reputation and brand as if they are one and the same. So it’s not surprising that

marketing (the traditional domain of brand management) and public relations (the

traditional domain of reputation management) have blurred as well.

According to Ettenson and Knowles (2008) they are not the same, and confusing the

two can lead to costly mistakes. The confusion arises because the term ‘brand’ is

used very loosely and so has come to encompass everything from visual identity, to

advertising, to culture and, yes, reputation. The recent series of corporate scandals

and executive misdeeds, which include incidences reported about the Australian

higher education sector, has placed a renewed emphasis on protecting and

enhancing corporate reputation. This renewed emphasis on protecting and

enhancing reputation is both reflected in – and fuelled by – the growing number of

reputation rankings published in the media.

It is interesting to note that Professor Jan Thomas, USQ Vice-Chancellor and

President, spoke at a 2013 all staff forum about reputation – one of USQ’s apical

key performance indicators. Reputation is a challenging indicator and not one that

is often used in the higher education sector. So, you may ask - what is reputation?

(Thomas 2013).

77 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The short answer is that for USQ, reputation has a bearing on the University’s value.

USQ’s reputation is influenced by performance, policies and people, but ultimately

it is the stakeholders who decide what the reputation of the University actually is. A

stakeholder is anyone affected by an organisation and we commonly group

stakeholders by interest groups – government, business, high school leavers, etc. It

is of course possible to have a good reputation with one group and a poor one with

another.

There is significant confusion about whether ‘brand’ and ‘reputation’ are the same

thing. The true nature of a brand is as a customer-centric concept that focuses on

what value the product (or service or company) promises to deliver to the

customer. Brands are therefore about relevance, difference and added value to the

customer. A strong brand helps communicate that the company and its offerings

are relevant and uniquely able to meet customer needs. By contrast, reputation is a

company-centric concept that focuses on the credibility and respect that an

organisation enjoys among a broad set of stakeholders. Reputation is therefore

about legitimacy and the perception of the company as a responsible employer and

valued member of the community. Reputation affects stakeholder confidence, staff

recruitment, consumer attitudes and a myriad of other factors in its capacity as

relationship capital. A brand is created and controlled by an organisation, but a

reputation is something that is attributed to it by others.

As mentioned, reputation is one of two apical key performance indicators for USQ –

the other being financial. There are many ways to capture the notion of reputation

and USQ is currently measuring media exposure and trialling an instrument that

tests the sentiment in the media. The University has quantitative data which shows

how we are benchmarking in the sector but Professor Thomas invited staff to

consider and provide feedback on – ‘What constitutes a good reputation?’ (Thomas

2013).

Professor Thomas outlined the Arlo Brady model (2005) that lists seven elements of

reputation management for staff to consider:-

Knowledge and skills – employee talent pool;

78 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Emotional connections – consumers’ perception of value, stakeholder

alignment;

Leadership and vision – governance style and practice, motivation and

vision;

Quality – products and service delivery;

Financial credibility – history of creating better returns;

Social credibility – good citizen; and

Environmental credibility.

The difficulty facing the senior executive of USQ with naming reputation as one of

the apical key performance indicators, is finding a way to accurately measure

performance in this area.

Over a period of seven years Hill and Knowlton Strategies, a company which offers

expert strategic communication advice in 52 countries around the world, conducted

150,000 interviews on corporate brand and reputation in order to arrive at robust,

data-driven definitions of brand and reputation, and to explore the interaction

between the two concepts (Zandan & Lustina 2013). Similar to the definitions

offered by USQ, the survey’s analysts defined brand as ‘the sum of perceptions,

held primarily by a company’s current and potential customers or clients, about a

company’s specific product, service, or line of products or services’; and the

definition of reputation as the sum of perceptions about a company’s corporate

actions held by the public in the areas where the company operates.

Hill and Knowlton Strategies claims, ‘In order to manage Brand and Reputation

properly, companies first need a straightforward, repeatable strategy for measuring

each’. Across hundreds of studies, they have seen the best results from a four-step

process:

1. Identify key attributes for brand(s) – e.g. value, shopping experience,

expertise, client/patient results.

2. Identify key attributes for reputation – e.g. community engagement,

sustainability, job creation.

79 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

3. Identify key stakeholders – e.g. current and potential customers or

clients, investors, legislators, suppliers, opinion leaders, general

public.

4. Survey stakeholders regularly over time – quarterly key-attribute

surveys are optimal for most audiences. Monitoring differences in

attribute ratings over time allows firms to pinpoint potential threats

to brand and reputation. In a stable environment, less frequent

monitoring may suffice while more frequent monitoring is

recommended after any crisis on brand or reputation fronts.

After baseline research on any major internal or external event, Hill and Knowlton

Strategies recommends reviewing the attributes monitored to ensure the list

provides complete coverage. It will also ensure any themes that are emerging in

the qualitative portions of the monitoring are included (Zandan & Lustina 2013).

As thought leaders in the reputation field, global public relations firm, Weber

Shandwick, and its research arm, KRC Research, conducted similar research to Hill

and Knowlton Strategies asking both consumers and executives to answer the

frequently-raised question from corporate officers about how brand and reputation

are evolving in this new see-through, nowhere-to-hide world (Shandwick 2012).

The research aimed to help marketing and communication executives adjust to

what they could foresee as a tectonic shift in communicating the voice of the

‘enterprise’ to key stakeholders. The research was conducted in October and

November 2011 among 1,375 consumers (ages 18+) and 575 senior executives in

companies with revenue of $500 million or more. Respondents were located in four

key markets: two developed markets (United States and United Kingdom) and two

emerging markets (China and Brazil) (Shandwick 2012).

The results of this research showed that corporate reputation and brand reputation

are now nearly indivisible. It was found that the importance of a firm’s reputation

matters more than ever and is unified with the reputation of product brands to

create one powerful enterprise brand. Consumers want assurance that their well-

earned dollars are spent on products produced by companies that share their

80 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

values. They have higher expectations for the companies and the brands they like,

and are not hesitant to turn their backs when they are disappointed or fooled.

Because employee treatment and wrongdoing are now staples of consumer

discussions when companies are discussed, executives should be vigilant about

building better internal cultures and being as transparent as possible when the

chips are down. As their research confirms, executives are right to be paying

greater attention to reputation-building internally and externally and should never

lose sight of engaging with their stakeholders (Shandwick 2012).

An organisation should make every effort to safeguard and improve its reputation.

Society is placing increasing importance on business ethics, and stakeholders are

more prepared than ever before to hold corporations accountable for their actions.

A favorable reputation also plays an important role in attracting the best

employees, suppliers and investment. Numerous studies have demonstrated the

importance that employees place on working for a company that they can be proud

of.

A company’s reputation is affected by a variety of factors, not only its management

strength, financial performance and innovativeness, but also its treatment of

employees, efforts in workplace diversity, handling of ethical issues and

commitment to the environment. It is interesting to look at the recent case study of

the University of Queensland’s nepotism scandal. This story surfaced in November

2011 and much has been said about transparency - or lack of it - as to who did what

and when.

The Crime and Misconduct Commission's (CMC) report into the matter, which was

released on 13 September 2013, 21 months after it began, gave a disturbing

account of an organisation that at the time seemed as concerned with protecting

reputations as it was with its responsibility to explain to staff, students, the public

and the media what had actually happened to lead to the resignation of its two

most senior academic staff.

81 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The issue under investigation was serious enough - how the daughter of the then-

University of Queensland (UQ) Vice-Chancellor was offered a place in its 2011

undergraduate medical program although the student did not meet the

requirements of the course. More than 340 qualified students were refused entry.

It was sufficiently serious an issue that both the Vice-Chancellor and the Deputy

Vice-Chancellor resigned after an internal investigation.

Just as significant was the way UQ failed to explain itself publicly. In the words of

the CMC's report: ‘It may be considered that the right balance was not struck

between the public interest on the one hand and protecting the reputation of the

university and the reputation of the two most senior officers on the other’ (CMC

2013). The University's attempts to limit the public fallout failed, as the Chancellor

acknowledged in correspondence in January 2012, two months after the story

broke and days after the CMC announced it would conduct its own inquiry (CMC

2013).

‘To date, the approach has been to provide the minimum of information with an

overlay of spin, and absorb the pain. The concern was that the disclosure of

additional information opened up the Pandora's box, which would ultimately lead

to a CMC inquiry, - UQ Chancellor wrote, ‘That approach has failed in that we have

the inquiry and it has done a lot of damage in the meantime’ (CMC 2013).

This may be the official end of a deeply embarrassing episode in the history of UQ

but it is important that lessons are learnt, most important among them that, as

Acting CMC Chair Dr Ken Levy, writes in his foreword to the report – ‘Merit, equity

and transparency must be the guiding principles for public sector decisions’ (CMC

2013).

Dr Levy acknowledges that conflicts of interest will inevitably arise in organisations,

but ‘it is the manner in which they are managed which can be problematic’ (CMC

2013). ‘However, transparency remains vital’ he says, noting that in this particular

case formal complaints about the enrolment decision were not made until nine

82 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

months later, although ‘many within the University of Queensland community,

including staff suspected misconduct’ (CMC 2013).

The CMC says it accepted that the Chancellor and University Senate genuinely acted

in what they believed to be the best interests of the community, before continuing

with what is perhaps the most crucial observation in the report: ‘However, the CMC

also considers that the University has a public duty to the community’ (CMC 2013).

A solid reputation is desirable because all businesses ultimately depend (either

directly or indirectly) on the goodwill of the governments and communities in which

they operate.

So, why the confusion between reputation and brand? There are several reasons.

Firstly, reputation and brand are both recognised as valuable intangible assets that

manifest themselves in a company’s operations. As such, the actions of

management and employees can simultaneously affect both reputation and brand

(either positively or negatively). Secondly, both concepts rely on strategic

communications to shape people’s perceptions, and both share a similar goal: to

ensure that the appropriate audience considers the organisation and its offerings in

the best possible light.

Strategic alignment and measurement will position communications at the most

senior levels of the university sector. In an interview with USA Inc, Pete Peterson,

Chairman of the Blackstone Group, spoke about the Global Financial Crisis and said,

‘What matters is what the public thinks, and the public trust is what’s really

crashed’ (June 2011).

According to Professor Paul Argenti (2007), well regarded organisations generally:

» Command premium prices

» Pay lower prices

» Entice top recruits

» Experience greater loyalty

» Have more stable revenues

83 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

» Face fewer risks of crisis

» Are given greater latitude by constituents

» Have higher market valuation and stock prices

» Have greater loyalty of investors and thus smaller price volatility (Argenti

2007).

The Author argues that reputation is not the same as brand, as stated by Ettenson

and Knowles (2008).

Corporate reputation is a summary of how everyone feels about the organisation. If

one can imagine an aggregate evaluation of an organisation from every

stakeholder's perspective, this is reputation. Brand is how you position the

organisation as a whole rather than its individual products. You create a corporate

brand; you earn a reputation.

Measuring an organisation’s reputation is difficult, as the kind of measurement

systems available may not be meaningful. As a result, public relations practitioners

have to have a management team that is willing to invest, or willing to live with the

limitations of less effective measurement tools. Through this study, the Author will

seek to further understand how Australian universities determine and evaluate

their reputation among stakeholder groups.

At the end of 2011, Weber Shandwick and KRC Research conducted The Company

behind the Brand: In Reputation We Trust, a survey designed to investigate the

rising interdependence of brand and corporate reputation (Shandwick, 2012).

Findings from this survey revealed that the CEO and company reputation are

inextricably linked – corporate reputation is not isolated from the public’s views of a

company’s top leadership (Shandwick, 2012).

The following section examines the roles of leadership and management and how

each impacts on the overall success of an organisation.

84 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

3.3 LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION

What is the difference between management and leadership? The manager’s job is

to plan, organise and coordinate, and the leader’s job is to inspire and motivate

(Wall Street Journal 2012). Leadership is the single most important determinant of

organisational climate. The day-to-day leadership style has a powerful influence on

the expectations and behaviours of everyone in the organisation (Kennedy 2009). A

leader has to strategise as much about the changes needed to compete in the

future as the best ways to engage internal and external stakeholders to gain

support and commitment.

Attempts to define leadership and its role in the organisational communication

process are not new. What is new is the concern that leaders in organisations now

have, for individuals and for the role that each employee can play in the creation of

an organisational culture. As Pace and Faules (1989) suggest ‘leadership and

communication are intimately intertwined’. While they are not suggesting this

metaphor in the biblical sense, they nevertheless see the ability to lead as

essentially linked to the ability to communicate.

There are, it seems, two essential elements of leadership worth discussing in any

debate about the leadership process and what it means to management. Firstly, an

overall definition of leadership needs to be delineated before leadership styles and

supervisor/subordinate relationships can be considered. Secondly, the question of

whether or not leadership is a good thing, cannot be ignored. Pace and Faules

(1989), in their examination of leadership, see leadership and management as

parallel requisites, when they talk about ‘a management or leadership style’ as

being synonymous and concerned with interpersonal influence.

Zaleznik's (1992) approach takes the debate further seeing leadership and

management as separate issues and opposite concepts. While both ideals are

about interpersonal influence, each attacks the philosophy of leadership from

different sides. Management for Zaleznik is an ‘enabling process’ while leadership

is more about developing fresh approaches and projecting them in a way that

excites people. Leaders, he sees, have an added dimension, something mystical and

85 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

charismatic, or at least having something intangible about them, something extra

that predisposes people to follow their lead. Leadership represents the ability to

direct, motivate and challenge others.

An objection that can be levelled at Zalenik's image of leadership is that it does not

fit in with contemporary organisational management approaches that encourage

employee participation and empowerment. Pace and Faules’s approach seems to

be more appropriate, given that good management often means simply allowing

others to initiate by management giving encouragement and support; a process

that employs basic management objectives of allowing people to work together and

concentrating their efforts in a unified manner.

Locke (1991), in The Essence of Leadership, defines leadership as the process of

inducing others to take action towards a common goal. While this might leave itself

open to being a broad-based definition of the term ‘leadership’, it does

nevertheless suggest that three elements make up the definition. Firstly, leadership

is a rational concept - it exists only in the relationship the leader has to others in

their attempt to accomplish a task or goal. By definition, should there be no need

to accomplish a task or goal it would be impossible for leadership to occur.

Secondly, leadership is a process. A leader must not only do something but be seen

by others to go beyond what is needed to accomplish the task. Gardner (1988)

suggested that leadership is more than simply holding a position of authority.

Although a formal management position might help others perceive of someone as

a leader, simply occupying such a position is not enough to make someone a leader.

Lastly, leadership induces others to take action. Leaders can do this by using their

given authority, by setting examples and goals, by rewarding subordinates, or by

helping in the restructuring of the organisation to inspire team building and better

communication. Locke (1991) goes on to say that leadership can bring about an

organisational climate of effective communication, high morale and increased

productivity by:

86 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

» convincing subordinates that both the organisational goal and the

subordinate’s role in it is important, interrelated and attainable;

» challenging subordinates with goals, projects, tasks and responsibilities that

allow them to feel a sense of personal (as well as group and organisational)

success, achievement, and accomplishment; and

» rewarding subordinates who perform well with recognition, money and

promotions (Locke 1991).

There seems to be a timeless debate as to whether leaders are born or made. Do

effective leaders learn to become superior communicators and relationship

builders? Or do people with exemplary communication and teamwork abilities

naturally have an aptitude for leadership?

Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s online edition, citing the need for - and lack of -

these leadership qualities in business, asked its readers whether business schools

should ‘put more focus on communications and interpersonal training within their

programs, or should the programs require a greater degree of proficiency in these

skills in the students they admit?’ (Stephenson 2014). Inevitably, the discussion

revolved around the question of whether communication and relationship skills are

inherent or learned.

As Ivey Business School, Professor Gerard H. Seijts, illustrates in his compelling

article about the behaviours of effective leaders, communications and interpersonal

skills are absolutely critical, especially when a crisis erupts or when leaders ‘have to

navigate the rough seas of organisational change’ (Stephenson 2014). And since

‘most businesses operate in a complex and uncertain environment’, the best

business leaders possess foresight, decisiveness and the confidence to take risks -

behavioural traits gained by communicating and working with others (Stephenson

2014).

He further observes that when problems occur, leaders need the ‘visibility’ that

arises from remaining in touch with your people at all times (Stephenson 2014).

87 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Equally vital is a leader’s eagerness to communicate widely because there is ‘no

such thing as over-communications during a crisis’. He also underscores the critical

leadership ability of being able to ‘connect with people’ – to engage them, secure

their commitment and gain their trust (Stephenson 2014). Most important, he

shows how these mindsets not only help during a crisis, they inevitably help to

avoid crises (Stephenson 2014). Effective communication and interpersonal skills

provide leaders with an acute understanding of what could happen, how to

minimise surprises, and how to keep people on side – no matter what occurs.

It would appear that there is a very real distinction between leadership and

management. For a while, it seemed an alternative to the scientific management

approach had been found through the efforts of Elton Mayo (1880-1949) when he

attempted to introduce a more humanist approach to the leadership task by

examining the effects of working conditions, work output and employee efficiency

on organisational output and production (Riley 2012). Mayo suggested too that

leadership must respond effectively to the real and perceived needs of the

individual worker as well to the goals of the organisation (Riley 2012). This was in

contrast to the notion of management that typically involved maintaining existing

organisational structures and procedures rather than having a concern for workers.

Leadership studies undertaken by Douglas McGregor (2000), influenced by the work

of Taylor, Mayo and Maslow, developed the belief that traditional organisations

that had a top-down one-way management approach assumed certain facts about

human behaviour which were then used in leadership situations. McGregor said

that if people desired external control in their life it was only natural that

management should provide an organisational structure that directed workloads

and determined salaries - an assumption he termed Theory X - wherein

management acquires a central authoritative role in its exercise of authority.

To recapitulate on earlier readings, McGregor (2000) saw Theory X leaders as those

» who promoted message flow from the top down to the rest of the

organisation and who restricted any communication to subordinates to

88 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

informational messages only thus reinforcing the need for an informal

communication network to exist within the organisation;

» who restricted decision-making to between a few people near the top of the

organisation;

» who limited upward communication and strictly controlled employee input

thereby causing decisions to be based on partial, often inaccurate,

information.

While McGregor admitted that the principle closely resembled Taylor's scientific

management approach, he said that it would be improper for leaders to take such

an approach as the organisational climate created would lead to distrust, fear and

misunderstanding among those in the organisation. As a result, morale and

production would suffer. Influenced too by the human relationists of Mayo et al,

McGregor later hypothesised another set of assumptions for leadership which he

called Theory Y, which more accurately met the motivational needs of affiliation,

esteem and self-actualisation that Maslow suggested employees required.

Under Theory Y an effective leader was one who

» demonstrated a willingness to have messages travel up, down and across

the organisation and to have decisions spread throughout all levels of

the organisation and which were based on input from all levels;

» gave adequate and accurate feedback to employees thus eliminating the

need for informal communication networks;

» provided frequent and honest interaction with employees in an

atmosphere of confidence and trust.

McGregor said that managers who adopted Theory Y leadership approaches would

create an open communication system with an organisational climate of trust,

goodwill and harmony (McGregor 2000). To those critics who said McGregor

simplified complex management strategies, he gave himself an each-way bet,

insisting that his theories were not absolute. He stated,

89 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Theory X and Theory Y are not managerial strategies. They are underlying

beliefs about the nature of man that influence managers to adopt one

strategy rather than another. In fact, depending upon other characteristics of

the manager's view of reality and upon the particular situation in which he

finds himself, a manager who holds the beliefs that I call Theory X could adopt

a considerable array of strategies, some of which would typically be called

“hard” and some would be called “soft” (McGregor 2000).

Two concepts of leadership that have resurfaced in recent times deal with

transformational and transactional leadership behaviour. Transformational

leadership, as defined by Bass (1985); sees leadership as a change agent within the

organisation; leadership that involves motivating others to work for goals other

than those that might benefit their own self-interest. In contrast, transactional

leadership is leadership that maintains or continues the status quo, whereby

employees in the organisation get immediate, tangible rewards for carrying out

their work orders.

While all styles of leadership are in nature transactional, in that workers are

rewarded in some way, the transformational leader is one who goes beyond

meeting employees’ physiological needs by giving them the opportunity to become

a real part of the organisation. It would appear that effective leadership occurs only

when the communication process actually motivates subordinate behaviour.

Alvesson (1992) sees leadership as ‘not standing above or being able to change

culture, but rather as trying to influence people's minds’. His definition of

leadership formed part of on-going research into the study of leadership as a social

integrative function. Alvesson found that an organisational culture which promoted

social cohesion between staff at all levels by communicating to employees the

ideals of being personal, open and informal, was able to motivate and integrate

employees into the organisational climate more easily.

Because of the traditionalist functionalist view that different leadership styles can

produce different behaviour in subordinates (Pace & Faules 1989, p. 180) scholars

have been interested in knowing the traits and skills of successful leaders. While

90 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

there have emerged many interesting and varied studies, one clear contextual

element is apparent - leadership is dependent upon the situation. Albeit

situational, it appears that a leader could be great at one point in time but abysmal

in another; it is how people perceive them that is important. Pace and Faules 1989

(p. 180) write, ‘The context or culture is the dominant factor in determining what

behaviours mean’.

Leaders who want to build trust with key stakeholders have a plethora of

communication tools at their disposal, and capable communication professionals to

assist them. The performance of strategic communications depends heavily on the

perceptions, beliefs, and expectations that Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and other

top executives hold towards communication and its contribution to organisational

goals.

Researchers and professional associations alike argue that having a seat at the

board table or being a member of the dominant coalition would solve the problem

(Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier 2002, pp. 140–182; Smudde & Courtright 2012; Arthur W.

Page Society 2007; Watson 2012). As such, structural arrangements and better

qualified, business-savvy communicators are necessary. However, others have

criticised this view as simplistic. In fact, communication professionals are limited by

a large number of organisational and relational constraints (Berger 2005), which

cannot be reduced to reporting lines or personal competencies.

The gap between the rising importance of communication for organisations and the

relatively slow advancement of professional communication functions may be

explained by taking a closer look at the distribution of communication

responsibilities in universities. University CEOs are enacting their environments by

interpreting markets and stakeholder settings and by defining visions and business

models. As such, the core responsibility for communication as well as for all other

strategic decisions and activities is located within the boardroom. Depending on

the structure of a university, the Vice-Chancellor, or members of the top executive

group on the first level of the hierarchy, are in charge of communications.

91 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

This means that ‘the CEO should be the person most involved with both developing

the overall strategy for communications and delivering consistent messages to

constituencies’ (Argenti 2005, p. 54).

It is important for this study to investigate how Vice-Chancellors interact with their

public relations practitioners and how much they value their expert advice. No one

style of leadership seems to be effective in all organisations. Organisational

cultures are such that leadership tends to take more of a contingency approach to

effect motivation, production and communication.

The next section explores varying contemporary models and theories of extension

and communication practice exercised in contemporary universities.

3.4 COMMUNICATING IN THE CONTEMPORARY UNIVERSITY

Often, communicators are in the business of generating materials – speeches,

media releases and promotional materials. This form of communication is

essentially one-way and output-oriented which lacks the essential ingredient of

human interaction, namely, two-way communication. As a result, there is no

guarantee that the intended message is appropriate or well-timed. The importance

of a sound strategic communication process that supports business goals, enables

individuals and teams to contribute their best, and encourages dialogue, is often

misunderstood by university executives as it appears there is no common definition

for ‘communication positions’ within and among universities. One person’s

understanding of a ‘communication professional’ may involve strategy and key

messaging, while another’s may involve working solely with the media.

Many of the theories on media explain the effects media has on people. It is the

theory which explains how people use media for their need and gratification. The

Uses and Gratifications Theory emphasises motives and the self-perceived needs of

audience members (Blumler & Katz 1974). Blumler and Katz (1974) concluded that

different people can use the same communication message for very different

purposes. The same media content may gratify different needs for different

individuals, showing there is not only one way that people use media, and there are

92 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

as many reasons for using the media as there are media users (Blumler & Katz

1974). The communications function is much more effective when it is driven to

generate results, such as increased rates of awareness, and in improved stakeholder

relationships or strengthened internal alignment.

In the 1970s some theorists adopted a systems perspective, viewing organisations

as complex organisms competing to survive and thrive in challenging environments.

In general, any system is a group of parts that are arranged in complex ways and

which interact with each other through processes to achieve goals (von Bertalanffy

1951, 1968). Universities, for example, consist of a number of departments or units

(faculties, marketing, finance, student management), each of which includes

individuals and teams. The functioning of any of these units or subsystems cannot

be divorced from the ways other units or subsystems operate within a university;

they are interdependent. Universities are also a part of a larger system –

Universities Australia.

Systems and subsystems have boundaries that are selectively opened or closed to

their environments, allowing the flow of information and other resources. Open

systems use information exchange (input-throughput-output) to grow and thrive;

closed systems do not allow a large amount of information to move in or out

(Stacks, Hickson & Hill 1991). To survive and adapt, all social systems require some

degree of permeability (Stacks, Hickson & Hill 1991).

Figure 15: The Open System Model (von Bertalanffy 1968)

Communication is vital for exchanging information in and among subsystems

through multidirectional channels which are used in internal communications.

Feedback processes help systems adjust, change and maintain control. Collective

93 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

decision-making processes and shared responsibilities for communication are more

prevalent in a university environment because of the inter-reliance on

organisational responsibilities.

When organisational communication was first studied, it tended to borrow from the

foundations of the behavioural sciences that saw organisations simply as machines

which regarded communication between and among employees as a machine-like

process (Goldhaber 1990, pp. 15-25). Contemporary approaches see organisations

as living systems and communication as having a real presence in the life of the

organisation (Pacanowsky & O’Donnell-Trujillo 1983, pp. 266-47). Despite these

changes, strategic organisational communication has helped define the structural

elements that lie within the constraints of the business environment (Goldhaber

1990, pp. 24-25).

Employees at all levels are major players in the communication environment that

not only affects the organisation directly but also the lives and actions of other

people (Giddens 1989, p. 735). Any examination of the communication process

within organisations enables management to better understand the expectation of

employees and others, and gives a valuable insight into the policies, procedures,

customs and habits of those who help make up the organisation (Daniels & Spiker

1991, pp. 29-49).

While a hierarchical organisational structure within any university may induce

efficiency by way of the perceived power supervisors may have over subordinates,

Koehler and Applbaum (1981) and Goldhaber (1990) suggest that such power can

be at the expense of information accessibility. As mentioned, the Uses and

Gratification Theory has the ability to persuade the audience by giving them the

power to control which messages they take in and which messages they pass over,

whereas real stakeholder engagement and intelligence provides the opportunity to

communicate strategically.

As Whyte (1956) says, only with trust can there be any real communication.

However, until trust is achieved, the techniques and tools used to disseminate

communication can be wasted if employees do not have confidence in the motives

94 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

and sincerity of management’s actions (Baskin & Aronoff 1988). The importance of

strategically communicating information to employees and key stakeholders, and

involving them in decision-making processes, increases trust and efficiencies.

Communication specialists talk about the measurable result of communication

activities and how proactive communication generates more impact at less cost and

less risk to organisations, but measuring the outcomes of strategic communication

is inconclusive. It appears that the most significant weakness of public relations

practitioners within the Australian university sector is being able to define the

benefits of their vocation.

An organisation’s culture and climate is impacted by the leaders and managers of

the workplace. Following is a review of how communication patterns impact on

desired behaviours in a university environment.

3.5 CULTURE AND CLIMATE

The culture and climate of universities are the natural forces which leave an imprint

on the organisation. Communication is an important component of desired

behaviours, measured by an organisation’s communication patterns (Kennedy

2009). Acceptable behaviours are reflected in direct, constructive and timely

feedback; open communication; mutual respect; and use of conflict as an asset.

Unacceptable behaviours, such as blaming others; focusing on problems rather than

solutions; and allowing rumours, gossip and criticism to prevail, corrupt the

corporate climate.

3.5.1 CULTURE

Organisational culture has been defined as how an organisation sees itself. Culture

is the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered or

developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal

integration, and that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore

can be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in

relation to those problems. (Edgar Schein, quoted in Kendall, 1996)

95 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Culture is more deeply embedded and long term, taking longer to change and

influencing performance across many areas of functioning. Organisational climate

as described in section 3.5.2, on the other hand, changes faster and more

immediately reflects the standard of leadership.

One of the main influences on Australian university organisational culture

approaches emerged in the 1970s within the context of increasing competition

from Japan and other nations in the global marketplace. At the end of World War II,

the world economy experienced a spectacular growth rate never witnessed before

in human history, primarily led by large United States companies in the 1950s and

1960s, then by European and Japanese companies in the 1970s (Globalisation

Imperative, 2009). Multiculturalism evolved as the dominant bipartisan policy

approach to address Australia’s cultural diversity in the early 1970s (Australian

Government, 2000). Since that time significant advances have been made and we

have begun to use cultural diversity for our economic benefit.

Culture provides a sense of identity, clarifies and reinforces standards of behaviour,

and enhances the commitment to a university’s mission. Culture refers to an

organisation’s distinct identity – the shared beliefs, values, behaviors and artifacts

that an organisation holds, which determine how it functions and adapts to its

environment (Schein 1985). However, in terms of their operating environments,

the culture is expressed through such documents as the annual report, and various

publications, brochures and booklets (Moses 2007).

Edgar Shein (1992) states that the way to an organisation’s success depends on

three cognitive culture levels:

» Artefacts: facilities, furnishings, awards and recognitions, uniform or dress

code and interaction;

» Espoused values: conscious strategies depicted by goals and philosophies,

slogans, and mission statements; and

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» Basic assumptions and values: unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs,

perceptions, thoughts and feelings.

The organisational culture of USQ clearly defines and establishes organisational

objectives, goals, values, beliefs and operating procedures, which are advantageous

for the company.

The organisational culture at USQ was created through the Institution’s Founding

Director, Professor Lindsay Barker AM, in 1967. Professor Barker brought together

a core group of people with a common vision of building a regional higher

education institution. In the two decades between 1970 and 1990, the student

body grew from 1000 full-time students to 8000 full-time students (USQ 2012).

Distance education emerged as a major mode of delivery during the mid-1970s and

by 1980 external enrolments exceeded internal enrolments (USQ 2012). The

culture of USQ was founded by this small group of staff who could only be described

as innovative and visionary, developing an international student cohort and quality

distance education learning programs. The USQ international student market

boasted no less than three-quarters of Australia’s off-shore international student

enrolments in 1986-87 (USQ, 2012). The organisational culture was determined by

Professor Barker and others who brought into the institution, then adopted, the

culture with the behavioural norms described as a set of shared attitudes, values,

goals and practices that characterised USQ.

To explain USQ’s organisational culture further, it is worth noting that many

Australian regional universities were born out of community interest and support

and a national policy perspective that sought to encourage equity and access

(Postle & Garlick 2014). Regional universities formed out of the expansion of higher

education in the 1960s either as purpose-built new universities such as The

University of Wollongong in New South Wales or James Cook University in

Townsville, Queensland, or as regionally-centred Colleges of Advanced Education

that would become regional universities with the sector reforms of the late 1980s

(Postle & Garlick 2014). Inevitably, these newer universities allowed for access by

increasingly diverse cohorts of non-traditional students and, consequently, sector

97 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

expansion from the 1960s has increasingly been linked as much to social justice as it

has to increasing student demand meeting the growing need for a professional

workforce (Postle & Garlick 2014). However, while the culture of USQ was

determined in a single more practically oriented and democratically aligned sector,

the allure of traditional attitudes based on institutional and individual prestige has

tended to result in the persistence of elitist attitudes, inferred from the recent

comments by Professor Jan Thomas (2013), Vice-Chancellor at the University of

Southern Queensland, when she asks:

‘So are we (still) instinctively benchmarking students in a mass education

system against the old guard, the product of an elite system, to protect and

preserve our disciplinary and intellectual reputations?’ (Postle & Garlick

2014, p. 34).

This influence - elitist culture – develops a rationale to the corporatisation of

university culture. Although universities need some separation from government,

industry, and popular culture to engage in their unique role, a university is part of

greater society and must accommodate the changing nature of the society in which

it exists (Udas 2014). Contemporary universities need to engage and consider the

impact that corporatisation and openness have on our cultures and our ability to do

what no other organisations are uniquely meant to do (Udas 2014).

Australian universities may advocate strong cultures, but are they able to point to

why they believe this, or to any evidence that the culture is indeed strong, or that

the culture has any measurable impact on the its overall mission, vision, values or

objectives? Have Australian universities undertaken stakeholder research and

strategic communication initiatives to determine their real position? Simply stating

it is, does not make it so, and many Vice Chancellors use this response claiming their

future is strong and healthy when, in fact, their stakeholders may tell you that it is

the very opposite.

The Australian National University UAC 2012 International Booklet states that, ‘The

strong culture of The Australian National University (ANU) offers students a learning

experience unlike any other university in Australia’; and Murdoch University

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espouses its ‘strong culture of community engagement’ in its Annual Report. Whilst

I do not doubt such statements, I ask what recent stakeholder research has been

conducted to confirm these statements?

3.5.2 CLIMATE

The organisational climate differs somewhat from the culture of an organisation.

Culture consists of employees’ subjective perceptions and such organisational

realities as policy, structure, leadership, standards, values and rules (Baskin and

Aronoff 1988). In essence, organisational climates are characterised by ‘feelings of

trust, confidence, oneness, candour, supportiveness, security, satisfaction,

involvement, produced in the organisation and high expectations’ (Baskin and

Aronoff 1988).

In summary, it might be postulated that within USQ the organisational climate

refers to an employee’s job satisfaction and is a label used to describe the

dimensions of the work environment. It reflects employee perceptions about what

gets rewarded, supported and expected in a particular setting which in turn affects

organisational productivity.

According to research from Gallup, approximately 80 percent of employees in the

Australian workforce are either not engaged or actively disengaged and cost

industry between $33 and $42 billion per annum in lost productivity (Gallup 2011).

Research also shows that one of the most effective ways to increase employee

engagement is through clear and effective internal or employee communications.

In August 2011, USQ conducted an Employee Climate Survey, via an external agency

(the Macquarie Voice Project). The aim of the survey was to gain an understanding

of the strengths and weaknesses of the University, through the University's most

important asset, its employees.

Employees were provided with a core set of questions, including questions about

organisational purpose, direction, leadership, career opportunities, Faculty/Section

management, teamwork, and performance appraisal. Results from the survey were

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provided to both senior management and employees in information sessions

conducted by the external agency in September 2011.

In response to the climate survey, a full internal communications action and

resource plan was developed, identifying actions, tools, resources, responsibilities,

timeframes and budgets for implementation. Monitoring of the implementation of

strategy/actions by the responsible individual/work area, including completion

progress and timeliness, was examined through regular progress reporting by the

Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations and reported to the Vice-

Chancellor’s Committee.

The Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations developed the

communications action plan and was responsible for the implementation of

initiatives, monitoring, and evaluation of the progress for the communication

actions. It was frustrating that we could not produce a quantifiable measure to

show areas of improvement through the communication strategies deployed. In an

academic environment, the qualitative research was often questioned.

Attitudes arise from an inner framework of values and beliefs, developed over time.

The values and beliefs that people in an organisation hold drive the way they think

and behave. The following section explores the connection between an

organisation’s values and beliefs and how this impacts on a company’s image or

reputation.

3.6 ORGANISATIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS

Every organisation, foundation, public society and institution has at its heart a

system of values and beliefs. These values should be reflected in all that the

organisation plans and does, including communication goals and strategic plans.

How do target audiences perceive the organisation and its issues? With the

internet, it is not difficult to develop a profile of how the organisation's issues are

covered in the media, how often the organisation is quoted or described, and what

public opinion polls have been done on relevant topics. A short and simple media

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analysis can be an instructive tool and will indicate the amount of resources

necessary to increase name recognition.

The move to seeking out people’s opinions and feedback - and then using this

information to shape how decisions are made within organisations - is a global

trend that has gathered momentum. Today, this ‘participatory model’ is spreading

beyond the workplace into the wider socio-cultural and political spheres. The trend

towards more participative processes in government has resulted in an increase in

people's expectations for public involvement in decisions affecting them. This

demand that government decision-making should include community participation

is fast becoming an organisational imperative (that is, 'expected practice') in many

societies.

An important shift came about with the ‘rise’ of active publics. The beginnings of

this ‘rise’ of active publics can be traced back to the 1960s, where various citizen-

based political and social activist and pressure groups formed (Sarkissian, Cook &

Walsh 1997). The focus of these groups was to ensure their voices were heard in

organisations, and that their needs, issues and interests were recognised and acted

upon. They were successful in attracting considerable media coverage which raised

issues in the public sphere. They worked to ensure organisations were held

responsible and accountable for their impact on the physical and social resources of

communities - and of the nation.

Contemporary organisations need to find ways to find a balance between achieving

efficiency, regularising practices and instilling conformity essential to achieving

quality, while at the same time embracing chaos, change, variability and complexity

essential to moving the organisations to greater levels of learning and innovation.

In addition, organisations need to understand that they develop greatest strength

from not controlling influences (both internal and external to the organisation), but

in developing an increasing awareness of these influences and building a responsive

system which embraces these dynamics.

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However, governments around the world are still seen to be paying lip service to

‘community consultation’ and unfortunately, in many cases, it is an expensive

exercise in selling a controversial project to a community. Such studies are often a

cruel exercise in cynicism, using the face of consultation to rob people of their right

to plan their own environment. They are a means of shifting the grounds of debate

so as to exclude the ordinary citizen: the debate becomes purely one in which the

scheme provides the best technical solution to a problem as perceived and defined

by those initiating the community consultation (Engwicht 1992).

This deeper area of work, termed ‘social responsibility’, has brought about a

different dynamic in the organisation-community relationship: as the organisation

works on areas to ‘care for’ the community, the community in return also supports

the organisation in its endeavour to create a better society.

Public and private organisations, large and small business, government and self-

styled government sectors, clubs, charities, and community groups are all moving

towards more mutual communication between themselves and their communities.

This represents a more sophisticated interpretation and application of an open

systems model guiding practices of extensive dialogue and ‘dynamic, meaningful

engagement between the community and the organisation’ (Sarkissian, Cook &

Walsh 1997, p. 11). It is an approach that embraces collaboration rather than

autonomy.

An important shift is made when an organisation supports and contributes and

engages the community. The organisation gives up the ‘sole right’ to make the final

decisions. Instead, a more democratic allocation of resources takes place where

decisions are determined by organisation and community together.

Today’s challenge is to bring together the expectations of organisations and their

stakeholders and communities into a relationship of trust where a shared vision for

the organisation can be generated (Burke 1999). Developing this relationship of

trust – a mutual ‘psychological contract’ (Burke 1999) - is by no means an easy

endeavour.

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Public relations professional and researcher James Grunig (1984) proposed four

models of public relations communication which describe the type of

communication that is taking place between organisations and their stakeholders.

These describe a scale ranging from the lower end of one-way communication with

no avenues of feedback (which Grunig called ‘one-way asymmetrical’) to the high

end of two-way mutual communication (which Grunig called ‘two-way

symmetrical’). An important part of these models is the way they depict the shift in

the organisation’s influence over the communication from asymmetry (where the

organisation’s agenda is the primary factor in the communication) to symmetry

(where the organisation seeks a mutual connection with the community). The more

advanced the public relations practice becomes (the more it moves towards a

symmetrical approach), the more ‘the public should be just as likely to persuade the

organisation’s management to change attitudes or behaviour as the organisation is

likely to change the publics’ attitudes or behaviour’ (Grunig & Hunt 1984, p. 23).

These models have challenged public relations professionals to identify the true

nature of communication that is occurring between the organisation and its

stakeholders, and to move to ‘higher levels’ of professional and ethical practice

where more symmetrical communication takes place. Across the public sector,

frameworks, policies and procedures have been developed to integrate

participative processes, and particularly consultation, in many aspects of

operations. Specific Acts of Parliament, Statutes (public, local, private), Statutory

Regulations, and various forms of legislation now require that public sector

(government) organisations undertake formal consultation processes.

The Victorian Local Government Act (1989) refers to consultation and engagement,

noting that Councils’ roles include ‘Acting as a representative government by taking

into account the diverse needs of the local community in decision making’ as well as

‘ … encouraging active participation in civic life’.

The Commonwealth Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society (1998)

is endorsed by the three tiers of Government: Commonwealth, State and Local in

Australia. It is relevant to ‘the strategic planning, policy development, budgeting

103 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

and reporting processes of government service delivery’. Consultation should be

central to all of these processes. The Charter proposed seven principles, which can

be applied to consultation: access; equity; communication; responsiveness;

effectiveness; efficiency; and accountability (Commonwealth Charter 1998).

The organisation needs to be very clear about what level of participation it wants to

build, and what is essential to the wider achievement of the organisation’s strategic

goals. It is equally important that the organisation also works to build community

understanding of this, so that public expectations of the process are in line with

what the organisation is offering. Indeed, community dissent is most often the

result of the experience of the stakeholders not matching what the organisation

says it is offering, or what they perceive the organisation to be offering.

Further, even when participation takes place, it may not be effective. Consultation

practices can become dominated by individuals or interest groups. The views

presented may not be representative of all publics, and focus may be redirected to

issues which can be ‘fixed’, rather than identifying the issues that are of most

importance to the whole community (Sarkissian, Cook & Walsh 1999).

If we think of social capital as the links, shared values and understandings in society

that enable individuals and groups to trust each other and so work together, then

there is increasing evidence that shows that social cohesion is critical for societies to

prosper economically and for development to be sustainable. Bertrand Russell was

a British philosopher awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950 for

championing freedom of thought and in his last lecture in 1948; Authority and the

Individual, quoted:-

Men who boast of being 'practical' are for the most part exclusively

preoccupied with means. But theirs is only one-half of wisdom. When we

take account of the other half, which is connected with ends, the economic

process and the whole of human life take on an entirely new aspect. We

ask no longer: what have the producers produced, and what has

consumption enabled the consumers in their turn to produce? We ask

104 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

instead: what has there been in the lives of consumers and producers to

make them glad to be alive? What have they felt or known or done that

could justify their creation? Have they experienced the glory of new

knowledge? Have they known love and friendship? People do not always

remember that politics, economics, and social organisations generally,

belong in the realm of means, not ends. Our political and social thinking is

prone to what may be called the 'administrator's fallacy', by which I mean

the habit of looking upon a society as a systematic whole, of a sort that is

thought good if it is pleasant to contemplate as a model of order, a

planned organism with parts neatly dovetailed into each other. But a

society does not, or at least should not, exist to satisfy an external survey,

but to bring a good life to the individuals who compose it. It is in the

individuals, not in the whole, that ultimate value is to be sought. A good

society is a means to a good life for those who compose it, not something

having a separate excellence on its own account (Russell 1948).

Therefore, as a concept, Russell’s quote is highly relevant to community

development today. Participatory approaches should become firmly embedded in

the lives of community members across the globe.

Legal requirements, in many cases, dictate that public sector organisations consult

the community about issues and decisions that will affect them. What is becoming

evident, however, is that despite the legal requirement to include consultation

processes, there are very few project changes gained from including the community

in decision-making processes. Perhaps the greatest lesson for organisations is the

importance of being very clear about what participation actually is, and what

specific level of participation is being offered to the community in each consultation

project. This helps manage expectations, and develops clarity on what promises are

being made to the community as part of the level of participation being offered.

In the practice of consultation conducted by public sector organisations, there is

great diversity, and differing levels of effectiveness. The experiences of people who

have participated in consultation are not all positive, and so there is scope for

105 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

practice to be improved. There are, however, some public sector organisations

such as the New South Wales Ministerial Taskforce on Aboriginal Affairs and the

Commonwealth Government’s Trade Training Centres in Schools Program that have

developed specific exceptionally-effective and innovative approaches. We can learn

much from these ‘leading lights’ who inherit principles clustered under nine

headings: clarity of purpose; commitment; communication; evidence; flexibility and

responsiveness; timeliness; inclusiveness; collaboration and continuous learning

(Woolcock & Brown 2005). A whole of community approach to the principals of

community engagement is taken and carries the process beyond empowerment to

making collective decisions.

It is also important to keep in mind that just because the public has the ‘right’ to

participate, it does not necessarily mean that they have the ‘capacity’ to participate.

So, just as organisations are obliged to include the community in participative

processes, they also carry equal obligation to work to ensure that people develop

the capacity to participate effectively.

It has been shown that effective community engagement delivers long-term

sustainable decisions. It strengthens stakeholder relationships, builds goodwill and

fosters ownership. Facilitating community engagement requires activities which

include public information forums, workshops and focus groups.

Governments, business and industry have relied on forms of community and

stakeholder participation for many years, but effective community engagement

begins with strategic communication. Universities have a duty to inform, consult

and involve their stakeholders, and they will be judged on how well they work with

partners to improve their reputation. Effective communication is fundamental to

promoting better community relations.

A focus of this research will look at how a sampling of universities in Australia

strategically communicate with their stakeholders. The Author seeks to understand

how advanced Australian universities are in knowing the perceptions of their

stakeholders, and how they strategically communicate with each of their

106 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

stakeholders. Pretty and Hine (1995) have developed a typology of ‘participation’

to differentiate actions according to the level of power agencies wish to devolve to

participants in determining outcomes and actions (see figure 16).

Typology Characteristics of Each Type

1. Passive Participation

People participate by being told what has been decided or has already happened. Information being shared belongs only to external professionals.

2. Participation by Consultation

People participate by being consulted or by answering questions. Process does not concede any share in decision-making, and professionals are under no obligation to take on board people's views.

3. Bought Participation

People participate in return for food, cash or other material incentives. Local people have no stake in prolonging technologies or practices when the incentives end.

4. Functional Participation

Participation seen by external agencies as a means to achieve their goals, especially reduced costs. People participate by forming groups to meet predetermined objectives.

5. Interactive Participation

People participate in joint analysis, development of action plans and formation or strengthening of local groups or institutions. Learning methodologies used to seek multiple perspectives, and groups determine how available resources are used.

6. Self-Mobilisation and Connectedness

People participate by taking initiatives independently to change systems. They develop contacts with external institutions for resources and technical advice they need, but retain control over how resources are used.

Figure 16: Source: adapted from Pretty, 1995 p. 1252

107 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Through this study, the investigation will identify which classification adheres most

closely with Australian universities. Do universities passively participate with their

stakeholders or do they actively interact with stakeholders to seek mutually

beneficial outcomes? The answer will provide increased understanding in knowing

if a system that measures stakeholder consultation is beneficial to the Australian

university sector. Organisational value measures the sum of an organisation’s

components - tangible and intangible - and evaluates its worth to relevant

constituents.

Often people ask what a public relations practitioner does.

A public relations practitioner at a university is a strategic communicator who works

with a variety of stakeholders to best represent and manage relationships with the

university. USQ’s public relations team works with the media which includes

television, radio, print, online, bloggers, etc, but it is becoming far more common

for a communications practitioner to be involved with conducting and reviewing

research to strengthen or develop communication efforts. A communications

practitioner also manages internal and external communications, develops

messaging in response to research findings, writes speeches, responds to

unexpected crises and provides overall messaging of what is happening within the

university.

The value of public relations efforts cannot always be equated to an X percent

increase in sales, or X dollars in advertising equivalency. It’s often an intrinsic value.

How do we put a dollar amount on the university’s good reputation, or the quick

resolution of a would-be crisis?

As has been revealed throughout this chapter, the question of measuring the

effectiveness of public relations seems to have surged in recent years as the

profession has grown in size and sophistication, and as those who practice in the

field have found themselves more often than ever being asked to be accountable

for what they do. Measuring and evaluating public relations activities involves

assessing the success or failure of a broad range of efforts that have the aim to

improve and enhance the relationships that organisations maintain with

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stakeholders. The final section of this chapter investigates current public relations

measurement practices.

3.7 MEASUREMENT

The debate over valid methods of measurement and evaluation of public relations

has a considerable history. Practices of measurement of the output and outcomes

of public relations activity can be traced back to the late 18th century and was

evident in the United States and Germany in the following century (Lamme &

Russell 2010; Watson 2012). At the beginning of the 20th Century, Cutlip (1994)

identified early monitoring practices in Boston while public relations pioneers such

as Edward Bernays and Arthur Page extensively used opinion research for the

monitoring of public opinion and the shaping of communication strategies (Ewen

1996; Griese 2001). By mid-century and aided by the operations of press clippings

agencies in many countries, most public relations practitioners were monitoring

media coverage and undertaking simple measurement of volume (typically column

inches) and judgements on its tonality (Plackard & Blackmon 1947).

Watson (2012) observed that the late 1960s and the 1970s were a period when

books and articles addressing public relations evaluation started to appear. These

were written by both academics and by practitioners. In 1969, Robinson’s Public

Relations and Survey Research was published. Pavlik (1987, p. 66) says that

‘Robinson predicted that public relations evaluation would move away from “seat-

of-the-pants” approaches and toward “scientific derived knowledge”’. Robinson

confidently stated that practitioners would no longer rely on anecdotal, subjective

measures of success, they ‘would begin to use more systematic measures of

success, primarily social science methods such as survey research’ (Pavlik 1987).

While there were a small number of publications from both academics and

practitioners in the early 1970s, the prime catalyst was a conference held in 1977 at

the University of Maryland, chaired by James Grunig (Watson 2012). This was

followed by the first scholarly special issue, ‘Measuring the Effectiveness of Public

Relations’, in Public Relations Review’s Winter 1977 edition, featuring papers from

the conference. In the decade that followed there was growing research in the field

109 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

of public relations measurement. Watson (2012) notes that United States journals

featured articles and research from Broom (Broom & Dozier 1983), Dozier (Broom &

Dozier 1983; Dozier 1984, 1985) and J. Grunig (1979, 1983; Grunig & Hickson, 1976).

Cline (1984) produced an annotated bibliography of evaluation and measurement in

public relations and organisational communication conducted between 1974 and

1984. Books, chapters and articles, by both academics and practitioners, were

written on such subjects as methodological techniques, evaluation of public

relations programs (such as employee, community relations or marketing

communication programs), evaluation of communication campaigns, measurement

of communication channels, measurement of communication products and

measuring return on public relations investment (for examples of practitioners, see

Graves 1975, Jacobson 1982, Sinickas 1983; Strenski 1980; Worcester 1983; for

academics, see, for example, Lerbinger 1978; McElreath 1975, 1980, 1981; Wright

1979).

Measurement and evaluation consultancies, either as independent firms or as

divisions of public relations agencies, were growing in number. The public relations

service business of media analysis, which had started growing in the mid-1960s,

started to expand with Katie Delahaye Paine announcing her first publicity

measurement system in 1987 and establishing the Delahaye measurement business

soon after. Pessolano (1985) wrote one of the first articles on the use of the then

new desktop computer for analysing media coverage. In the late 1980s, public

relations measurement and evaluation was still largely in the domain of clippings

counts, with limited, simple media analysis mainly related to volume and tonality of

coverage, much as it had been since the 1930s (Watson 2012).

In 1990, there was another major publication when Public Relations Review had a

special edition on evaluation, ‘Using Research to Plan and Evaluate Public Relations’

(Summer 1990). It demonstrated that measurement and evaluation were

consistently part of academic and professional discourse. All the authors

emphasised the need for public relations to be researched, planned and evaluated -

110 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

using robust social science techniques. This attitude was particularly fostered by

Broom and Dozier’s seminal publication, Using Research in Public Relations (1990).

This escalation continued throughout the 1990s, with regular appearances of

measurement and evaluation research in academic journals and association and

trade magazines. By 2000, there was enough interest in measurement and

evaluation to have specialised newsletters and magazines devoted to the subject,

such as PR Publishing’s Jim and Lauri Grunig’s Research (a supplement in PR

Reporter) and Melcrum Publishing’s Total Communication Measurement.

In a 2004 survey by the Communications Executive Council of Chief Communication

Officers in major corporations, respondents ranked ‘measuring communication

effectiveness’ as the second most important issue facing the communications

industry (Argenti 2005).

In 2010, the second European Summit on Measurement in Barcelona, which is the

annual gathering of the International Association for the Measurement and

Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), and consequently of the public relations

measurement service sector, adopted a statement of seven principles about

measurement of public relations and corporate communication activity. Called the

Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles (AMEC 2010), it was a normative

statement that placed emphasis on the measurability of communication activity,

and specifically rejected Advertising Value Equivalence (AVE) as a valuation of public

relations activity. (The definition of advertising value equivalency is the calculation

of space or time used for publicity or news content by comparing it to the cost of

that same space or time if purchased as advertising (Rawlins, 2010)). Media

tracking and analysis is the monitoring of an organisation’s coverage by the press on

various media vehicles such as television, cable, internet and radio (Weeks 2011).

The development of the Barcelona Principles was seen as transformational in the

way it challenged public relations practitioners and evaluation specialists alike to

look at the role of measurement in a new, different and relevant way.

Measurement, at its simplest level, helps professionals to prove the value of their

work.

111 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The Barcelona Principles for communication measurement as outlined by the AMEC

(2010) states that the seven Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles are:

1 The importance of goal setting and measurement;

2 Measuring the effect on outcomes is preferred to measuring outputs;

3 The effect on business results can and should be measured where

possible;

4 Media measurement requires quantity and quality;

5 Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) are not the value of public

relations

6 Social media can and should be measured;

7 Transparency and replicability are paramount to sound measurement.

Of the seven principles, three link with the social science emphasis of Excellence

Theory in Public Relations, namely: (1) the importance of goal setting and

measurement; (2) measuring the effect on outcomes is preferable to measuring

media results; and (3) the effect on business results can and should be measured

where possible (Grunig 2008).

To summarise the meaning of The Excellence Theory in Public Relations, the theory

first explains the value of public relations to organisations and society based on the

social responsibility of managerial decisions and the quality of relationships with

stakeholder publics (Grunig 1992). For an organisation to be effective, according to

the theory, it must behave in ways that solve the problems and satisfy the goals of

stakeholders as well as of management. If it does not, stakeholders will either

pressure the organisation to change or oppose it in ways that add cost and risk to

organisational policies and decisions. To behave in socially acceptable ways,

organisations must scan their environment to identify publics who are affected by

potential organisational decisions or who want organisations to make decisions to

solve problems that are important to them. Then, organisations must communicate

symmetrically with publics (taking the interests of both the organisation and publics

into account) to cultivate high-quality, long-term relationships with them. Good

relationships are of value to organisations because they: reduce the costs of

litigation, regulation, legislation, and negative publicity caused by poor

112 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

relationships; reduce the risk of making decisions that affect different stakeholders;

or increase revenue by providing products and services needed by stakeholders

(Grunig 2006, p. 1).

The public relations industry, by its own admission, has been slow to adopt

standard measurement techniques, something that advertising, direct mail and

other marketing and communication disciplines have been using to their advantage

for years. The ‘Barcelona Principles’ were quickly adopted by public relations

professionals and industry bodies in the United Kingdom, North America and

globally (Watson 2012). They are a baseline which public relations organisations

are using to encourage higher standards in research, planning and measurement.

As has been shown, the need for measurement in public relations had been

identified for some years, yet as the world has suffered in economic turmoil, more

prominence has been paid to budgeting in corporations large and small across the

world. The value of everything has been under scrutiny and so now, more than

ever, the importance of attributing an accurate value to public relations is critical.

The term, Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE), was rejected by the International

Public Relations Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation, as

the term erroneously suggests that the space and time occupied by earned media

generated through public relations is equivalent to the same space and time of paid

media when purchased as advertising (Rawlins 2010). It was advocated by the

Commission that there is no evidence to suggest that advertising and editorial space

hold equivalent value, as advertising is purchased and affords complete control to

the advertiser for content, placement and frequency and is almost always positive

(Rawlins 2010). In contrast, publicity, or earned media, is only semi-controllable

after ceding the final output to the medium that may result in positive, neutral or

negative messages (Rawlins 2010). While earned and paid media deliver messages,

the editorial imprimatur represented through earned media is a key differentiator.

The Commission determined that the two are not equivalent concepts and should

not be treated as such (Rawlins 2010, p.1).

113 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The industry needed a universal consensus that turned its back on Advertising

Equivalency Values (AVE), and many public relations practitioners believed that the

Barcelona Principles were the measurement guidelines we had all been waiting for.

It has been said that this was the tipping point in the quest to find an authentic and

credible measurement framework for the industry (West 2014). The Author

disagrees. It’s one thing to say we now have some measurement principles to live

by, and here they are. It’s another thing entirely to actually produce reliable and

replicable results that are valid for determining the impact of public relations and

research methods that will result in tangible measures. Measurement is only

meaningful if the information delivered is beneficial to those who can act on it. The

Barcelona Principles do not provide the measurable results necessary for senior

executives to show the value of public relations outcomes in dealing with the

credibility, relationships, reputation and trust of target audience perceptions

compared to other industry standards.

Australian universities now operate in a competitive corporatised environment that

necessitates evidence-based return-on-investment expenditures where creative

ideas and strategic insight must now be rooted in data. The impact of public

relations work must be measured, not on output, but on actual outcomes, and the

value of our service must be expressible in the precise terminology of business, not

the vagaries of public relations.

Practitioners have also shown reluctance to adopt proven methods. As Watson

(1994) and Wright et al. (2009), amongst other researchers, have found,

practitioners still talk more about evaluation than actually practice it. Gregory’s

2001 article, ‘Public relations and evaluation: does the reality match the rhetoric?’ is

an appropriate effusive question and summary of the situation after a century of

public relations practice.

In reality, all too often the value of the public relations professional is vastly under-

valued. The effect of our advice, service and content is under-represented in year-

end reviews, and opportunities to assess the impact of public relations activities

versus other expenditures go under-recognised. Public relations specialists must

114 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

now take the next step, and business leaders are seen by far as the primary targets

in advocacy for public relations and communications (Global Alliance 2012).

Advertising value equivalencies and media tracking and analysis have failed to

accurately reflect the value of strategic communication (Argenti 2005).

As previously mentioned in chapter two, USQ senior executive sought an accurate

measure to show the value of expenditure for stakeholder engagement following

USQ’s 2009 Internal and External Stakeholder Research. Accurate measurement is

an important step toward establishing the real and usually under-estimated value of

public relations. The problem is that there is still an incompatibility between what

communication divisions generate to evaluate their effectiveness and what senior

executives view as benchmarks.

With the advent of Federal Government funding cuts in the Australian university

sector, senior executives are forced to consider expenditure in business outcomes,

such as revenue, earnings and market share, but communication professionals

instead spend most of their measurement efforts calculating the outputs of specific

communication activities because we have failed to determine an accurate measure

for the outcomes of public relation engagement with stakeholders.

Weighing in on this persistent problem Paul A Argenti, Professor of Corporate

Communications at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, argues that

‘The average company already collects data in many different communication areas,

but fails to convert this into useful information’. Professor Argenti writes, ‘This

shortfall occurs because communication professionals have not developed the right

tools to demonstrate value to senior managers’ (Argenti 2005 p. 31).

Libby Howard from Judge and Howard Public Relations Ltd, a 2012 award winner for

the United Kingdom’s Outstanding Small Consultancy Excellence Awards, said,

‘While we would all applaud efforts to move the evaluation debate on from simply

measuring column inches, many in the industry - myself included - were roundly

unimpressed by the Barcelona Principles, which for the most part seemed a

statement of the obvious and lacking in imagination’ (2011).

115 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

David Rockland, CEO of Ketchum Pieon Change and Global Research (2012) says,

‘Part of that maturation is also a shift from counting earned media, to counting

what is much more important - target audience change and business results. Is the

maturation of public relations measurement complete? No, far from it’ (Rockland

2012 p.57).

The Barcelona Principles began the process by identifying guidelines for

measurement but who’s driving this? It is primarily a group called the International

Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication; AMEC for short, a

trade association that recognised that its own industry needed not an evolution, but

a revolution, to stay relevant in today's fast-changing media landscape.

The Author believes that the Barcelona Principles formalise the obvious

measurement standards of public relations, but the implementation of

measurement is still the responsibility of the public relations practitioner. A

measurement roadmap has been created by consensus of the Barcelona Principles

but there is no vehicle to manifest how we get there. Ragan/NASDAQ OMX

Corporate Solutions, a leading provider of trading, exchange technology information

and public company services across six continents, conducted an online survey of

1467 public relations professionals in March 2013. It is interesting to note that all

those surveyed were serious about finding a solution with the problem of

measurement, but 66 percent of respondents had never heard of the Barcelona

Principles, and another 17 percent had heard of them but didn’t know how they

would apply to public relations metrics (Working 2013).

Catherine Arrow (2010) says, ‘While I was delighted to see this agreement finally

putting the lid on the unethical tosh and nonsense that is AVE, I was still frustrated

to see this list so closely tied to media, when public relations is concerned with so

much more. I was also a little concerned to see the list tucked under the heading of

‘research principles’, when research and research methods don’t get a mention.

The steps and stages of public relations and communications evaluation have been

around for decades and any practitioner worth their salt has a robust process in

place that informs and guides strategy, engagement and relationship building as

116 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

well as assessing effectiveness against organisational outcomes. Generating

coverage centric numerics and retaining a focus on media measurement without

moving it into an evaluation process generally leaves people with a list of nice

looking but meaningless numbers’ (Arrow 2010).

Measurement and performance assessment are critical tools for proving the value

of communication efforts, building the business case for resources, and

continuously improving everything communication practitioners do. Measurement

supports success: companies with highly effective communications are three times

more likely to measure and report results than low-effective companies. They are

also 1.7 times more likely to outperform the market (Melcrum 2013). Despite the

benefits, 43 percent of communication functions have no formal mechanisms for

measuring or diagnosing performance (Melcrum 2013). Strategic communication

plans are incomplete without a built-in measureable component as a way to check

accountability and make improvements over time.

The final results of the 2011/2012 Global Public Relations Advocacy Survey revealed

that ‘Measurement and Return on Investment’ was the greatest opportunity facing

public relations/communication management professionals today at a global level,

while ‘Demonstrating the value of Public Relations/Communication to

organisations’ was rated the single most important key to advocating success and

promoting the value of public relations and communication management (Global

Alliance 2012).

Currently, evaluation activities include analysing media content and monitoring

certain developments such as shifts in public opinion, policy changes, increased

membership and organisational participation, and improved institutional capacity.

These methods are often questioned by the senior executives of universities

because they cannot place a quantifiable measure against their Key Performance

Indicators.

Public relations professionals continue to be challenged by the need for

accountability, with questions such as ‘what are we doing to help drive the

business?’, ‘what is the business impact of our efforts?’ Unfortunately, most

117 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

practitioners confronted with the challenge of time, effort and money, struggle to

move beyond output metrics like impressions or coverage. To effectively link public

relations efforts with business results, public relations practitioners need to adopt a

holistic approach to the science of measurement.

Essentially, the Author argues that the value of public relations can be found in the

relationships it cultivates with publics/stakeholders. Relationships are intangible

assets, and they are difficult to measure. Is it possible to conceptualise the financial

returns to relationships? They reduce costs, reduce risk, and increase revenue to

organisations, but high-level managers simply don’t recognise return on investment

(ROI) in the form that it is presented to them by public relations staff or consultants

with current ‘public relations metrics’.

Regardless of the challenge, there is no ‘silver bullet’ metric currently available to

capture and track the value that strategic communication brings to an organisation.

This study will determine if a strategic communication measurement is important to

the overall reputation of universities in the Australian higher education sector to

show value in listening and responding to stakeholder perceptions.

3.8 THE PROJECT

As has been shown, measurement tools have failed to accurately reflect the value

of strategic communication. There are equations to show ‘Return on Investment’,

media tracking and analysis, stakeholder attitudes and advertising equivalencies,

but often these measurement tools do not provide the value evidence required by

university leaders. In recent years, determining these aspects of business has taken

on an increased urgency as efforts to gauge strategic communication value have

continued to fall flat.

It has been shown that there is a disparity between what communication divisions

produce to evaluate their effectiveness and what senior leaders view as

benchmarks. With the tightening fiscal environment within the Australian

universities sector, senior leaders are interested in business outcomes, such as

118 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

revenue, earnings and market share, but communication professionals instead

spend most of their measurement efforts calculating the outputs of specific

communication activities.

As previously mentioned, through the Council of Australian Governments,

Australian universities have set an ambitious goal: that by 2025, 40 percent of all

25-34 year olds will have a qualification at bachelor level or above (Gillard 2009).

Strategic communication is an important channel to assist in the realisation of this

goal to raise stakeholder awareness of the benefits of higher education. To

accomplish this, and many other business objectives, the public relations profession

needs to accurately measure its activities so that Vice-Chancellors are able to

quantify the impact of communication.

Measurement and evaluation techniques that are widely understood, accepted and

implemented are critical to the acceptance and growth of public relations. For that

reason, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has embarked on an effort to

identify standard approaches for measuring the impact of public relations,

convening a Measurement Task Force comprised of the current and past chairs of

the Institute for Public Relations' Commission on Public Relations Measurement and

Evaluation.

Through reflection, and applying the knowledge and experience gained, the Author

will undertake evidenced-based research within the Australian university sector to

understand if a system, that measures the benefit of strategic communication, may

further develop the profession and enhance the reputation of the strategic

communication function.

If this study determines a professional need/benefit to measure strategic

communication within the higher education sector, the system which incorporates a

risk indicator to evidence communication outcomes will be further developed and

improved.

119 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

3.8.1 AIM

The system has been piloted by the University of Southern Queensland and has

been demonstrated to the former Vice-Chancellor and the Chancellor’s Committee

with favourable feedback. As a presenter at the 2010 National Public Relations

Conference in Darwin; the 2012 Annual Higher Education Communication Officers’

Conference in Melbourne; and the 2014 Public Relations Research Colloquium in

Adelaide, the Author elucidated details of the system to peer public relations

professionals. It was shown how the results of stakeholder qualitative research are

entered into the database and, by using a recognised risk assessment scale, a

measure shows the severity of the outcome if no action is taken. The System

assesses the likelihood of the stakeholder perception, the severity of the outcome

prior to communication action, and then determining an action and inputting this

data into the program; an automated update of risk is provided. This risk indicator

highlights priorities for management and delivers a scientific measure to strategic

communication initiatives which address stakeholder perceptions.

The three aims of my doctoral research are:-

» to establish an understanding of the current strategic communication

initiatives employed by Australian universities;

» to establish whether the senior executive of Australian universities

appreciate the value of strategic communication to their overall business

initiatives and, if so, how the sector can better manage and measure

reputation amongst stakeholders through improved systems and

efficiencies; and

» to develop an understanding of how a system that measures the benefit of

strategic communication may further develop the communications

profession and enhance the reputation of the strategic communication

function.

120 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Effective communication professionals are those who speak the same language as

senior executives and have a deep understanding of the university and its strategy.

Argenti (2005) states that,

‘Companies that continue to take a laissez-faire approach to

communication will find it increasingly difficult to compete. Although

there will be a continuing need to tactical execution, the addition of an

integrated, strategic focus will be critical to success. For communication

professionals this imperative will not be a threat, but an opportunity to not

only acquire a seat at the table but to stay there’.

3.8.2 PROBLEMS/ISSUES TO BE INVESTIGATED

» Who is really shaping the success of the higher education sector?

» As we exist in an age of timeliness with its constant demand for

information, and where the media plays a crucial role in informing the

public about the higher education sector, how does the sector currently

keep updated on stakeholder issues and perceptions, or is this an area

which is ‘hit and miss’?

» Is the higher education sector serious about addressing the perceptions

of their stakeholders and, if so, how would they utilise the expertise of

strategic communication specialists and systems to map their strategic

directions?

» Is the higher education sector interested in measuring the value of

strategic communication?

» How can the public relations profession improve the impact of applying

strategic communication actions to improve stakeholder opinion which

will benefit the higher education sector?

» What elements are necessary to improve the developed system which

evidences value by measuring the impact of honest community

engagement in the higher education sector?

121 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

CHAPTER FOUR - METHODOLOGY

4.1 INTRODUCTION

As mentioned in previous chapters, the USQ RoP case study signified interesting

opportunities and directions to investigate an appropriate measure and value in

incorporating community opinion in decision-making and identifying future

strategic directions. This study developed through the failure of being able to

effectively measure communication actions to university senior management in

response to identified stakeholder perceptions.

The concept of building a system to measure the value of strategic communication

was established prior to commencing the USQ Doctorate of Professional Studies

(DPST) program. A risk indicator for communication measurement appeared of

strategic importance, but further research was required to understand whether the

model reached beyond exemplars suggested in current literature and to explore the

relevance of communication measurement in the higher education sector. The

review of literature has produced recurring themes emphasising the need to

measure communication effectiveness (Argenti 2005, Grunig 2008, Rawlins 2010,

Watson 2011, Rockland 2012).

The basis of this study for communication measurement has been founded through

the professional case studies and literature review research in previous chapters.

Identifying how to measure the communication gap between an organisation and

their stakeholders contributes to new knowledge and a viable research which may

assist to deliver reputational analytics and organisational variables that interact

with key stakeholder groups. This chapter outlines the overall aim of the study; the

research questions; the general methodology of the study; the research approach;

design; and data collection analysis.

The aim of this study is to understand the characteristics of current state

communication needs of Australian universities by comparing the communication

practices and organisational performance of Australian university communication

directors congruent with the reputational demands of the workplace. It will be

122 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

determined if there is a need to measure strategic communication value to better

manage reputational issues in Australian universities, and whether the conceptual

paradigm of this research study should be further developed. The results of this

research will provide evidence to determine whether a risk indicator to measure

effectiveness of communication activities would be beneficial and relevant to

industry needs.

4.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The research forms part of this professional doctorate study. The purpose of this

research is to:-

» establish an understanding of the current strategic communication

initiatives deployed by Australian regional and metropolitan universities;

» clarify whether the senior executive of a sampling of Australian regional and

metropolitan universities appreciate the value of strategic communication

to their overall business initiatives and, if so, how the sector can better

manage reputation amongst stakeholders through improved efficiencies;

and

» develop an understanding of how a system that measures the benefit of

strategic communication may influence the communications profession and

enhance the reputation of the strategic communication function.

The following section shows why the questions and issues to be investigated are

best suited to a qualitative approach to conduct this research.

4.3 RESEARCH APPROACH

This study builds upon the researcher’s personal profile and professional

development (as outlined in chapters one, appendix A and chapter two) and the

literature review (outlined in chapter three), to proceed with a contextually-specific

research investigation using an online survey questionnaire, through to product or

systems development and organisational change activities.

123 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

In this study the researcher’s task is to develop an online survey questionnaire to

explore the roles of public relations offices in a sampling of Australian regional and

metropolitan universities. This approach lends itself to a qualitative method of

inquiry as the collection of data seeks insight rather than statistical analysis.

Researchers adopting a qualitative perspective are more concerned with

understanding an individual’s perceptions of the world (Baskerville & Myers 2004,

pp. 329-335). According to Denzin and Lincoln (1994), qualitative researchers study

things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret,

phenomenon in terms of the meanings people bring to them.

Qualitative research was also considered appropriate to this study as it is more

subjective than quantitative research, and uses very different methods of collecting

information, mainly individual surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups. The

nature of this type of research is exploratory and open-ended. Qualitative

researchers build their patterns, categories, and themes from ‘the bottom up,’ by

organising the collected data inductively into increasingly more abstract units of

information. This inductive process involves researchers working back and forth

between the topics until they establish a comprehensive set of themes. It may also

involve collaborating with the participants interactively, so that they have a chance

to shape the themes or abstractions that emerge from the process. Researchers

also use deductive thinking in that they build themes that are constantly being

checked against the data. The inductive-deductive logic process means that the

qualitative researcher uses complex reasoning skills throughout the process of

research.

Casell and Symon (1994) state that qualitative research is said to have a number of

characteristics, which include: a focus on interpretation rather than quantification;

an emphasis on subjectivity rather than objectivity; flexibility in the process of

conducting research; an orientation towards process rather than outcome; a

concern with context regarding behaviour and situation as inextricably linked in

forming experience; and finally, an explicit recognition of the impact of the research

process on the research situation.

124 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people’s attitudes, behaviours, value

systems, concerns, motivations, aspirations, culture or lifestyles (Ereaut 2011). It is

used to inform business decisions, policy information, communication and research

(Ereaut 2011).

Shank (2002) defines qualitative research as ‘a form of systematic empirical inquiry

into meaning’. By ‘systematic’ Shank means ‘planned, ordered and public’,

following rules agreed upon by members of the qualitative research community. By

‘empirical’, he means that this type of inquiry is grounded in the world of

experience. ‘Inquiry into meaning’ denotes researchers trying to understand how

others make sense of their experience. Denzin and Lincoln (2000) claim that

qualitative research involves an ‘interpretive and naturalistic’ approach.

Qualitative research will generate the primary data of this study by providing a

bigger picture of the situation, and then, by utilising quantitative techniques to

analyse the primary data, the researcher can more accurately evaluate the results

of people’s words and actions.

The research design is outlined in the next section and provides the overall strategy

developed to effectively address the research problem.

4.4 RESEARCH DESIGN

In order to conduct a rich, meaningful, qualitative study, the research plan

considered the following five components to its formation:

1) Significance and goals

The research project is designed to significantly understand current public relations

initiatives deployed by a sampling of Australian regional and metropolitan

universities. In particular, the survey findings will assist to identify the value of

strategic communication to overall business initiatives and how public relations

practitioners currently measure the impact of their work.

125 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

2) Conceptual framework

The conceptual framework of this study - the system of concepts, assumptions,

expectations, beliefs, and theories that supports and informs this research—is a key

part of the design (Miles & Huberman 1994, Robson 2011). Miles and Huberman

(1994) defined a conceptual framework as a visual or written product, one that

‘explains, either graphically or in narrative form, the main things to be studied - the

key factors, concepts, or variables - and the presumed relationships among them’

(p. 18).

The conceptual framework informs the research design. A diagram of the research

process appears in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Research Process as reproduced from Monash University 2003

The conceptual framework assists the research design by refining existing

knowledge (chapters one and two) and critically reviewing current literature

(chapter three) to refine goals and develop realistic and relevant research

questions, select appropriate methods, and identify potential validity threats to the

conclusions. It is in this framework where the present research problem evolved

and the study’s relevance was re-affirmed.

3) Purpose of this research

The purpose of the study is to provide recommendations on how senior

management in the higher education sector may better manage reputational issues

by accurately measuring the benefits of strategic communication. The aim is to

126 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

develop an understanding of how a system that measures the benefit of strategic

communication might influence the communications profession and enhance the

reputation of the strategic communication function.

4) Methodology

As previously stated, qualitative research was considered appropriate to this study

because quantitative measures and statistical analyses do not fit the problem being

investigated. The researcher has adapted the concept of methodological

congruence advanced by Morse and Richards (2002) - that the purposes, questions,

and methods of research are all interconnected and interrelated so that the study

appears as a cohesive whole rather than as fragmented, isolated parts.

The survey questionnaire is built from a variety of question types including multiple

choices, rating scales, ranking measure, matrix of choices, open-ended research

questions, and comment fields. Systematic checking and pre-testing of the survey

was performed to ensure interpretability, and confidence that the predetermined

questions effectively addressed the research problem.

Before commencing this research, ethical clearance from the University of Southern

Queensland (USQ) Human Research Ethics Committee was obligatory; as it is policy

for researchers undertaking projects involving human participants to obtain

approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee (see section 4.6.3 and

appendix B).

Participants selected to undertake the on-line survey questionnaire will be drawn

from the Universities Australia list of Directors of Public Relations and

Communication members. A pilot sample of six regional and six metropolitan

universities will be invited to participate in the research drawn from a cross-section

of Australian states.

5) Analysis

Qualitative data analysis involves the identification, examination and interpretation

of patterns and themes in textual data, and determines how these patterns and

127 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

themes help answer the research questions. After administering the survey

questionnaire and data is collected, the researcher analyses the findings of each of

the research questions by way of a thematic interpretation, string analysis of data

and ethnographic functions. Further explanation of the data analysis is provided in

section 4.8 of this chapter.

Qualitative research often includes a variety of methodological approaches and the

next section will examine why action research is also an important element to the

research design.

4.5 USING ACTION RESEARCH AS AN INTEGER TO KNOWLEDGE

Complementing the qualitative approach, a type of action research will primarily be

the narrative driver that will assist to exemplify and illustrate the foundation needs

of the qualitative approach, as ‘Action research ... aims to contribute both to the

practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to further

the goals of social science simultaneously. For that reason, there is a dual

commitment in action research to study a system and concurrently to collaborate

with members of the system in changing it in what is together regarded as a

desirable direction’ (O’Brien 1998 p. 2).

Each stage will be informed by the previous stage and outcomes will be considered

and updated over the course of this study. Transfer of learning is feasible through

'participatory' action research undertaken to further inform the data sets.

Supporting this analogy, Cohen and Manion (1980, p. 209) described research

design as, ‘essentially an on the spot procedure designed to deal with a concrete

problem located in an immediate situation. The step by step process is constantly

monitored (ideally, that is) over varying periods of time and by a variety of

mechanism (surveys, interviews and case studies for example) so that the enduring

feedback may be translated into modifications’.

While the research design relies heavily on the qualitative methodological approach

augmented by action research variables, the components of any action research

128 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

method denote that ongoing evaluation and adjustment be made. In this instance,

the Communication System measurement tool will be greatly influenced by the

changing nature of the organisation communication needs and ongoing

reputational demands of key stakeholder groups demanding transparency and

interpretation of their environments.

Like all action research models, it is the intention of this study that senior executive

and organisational communication practitioners, once aware of its conclusions, will

continue to review, evaluate and improve upon their formal and informal

communication practices (Warmington 1980, pp. 23-39). Likewise, Brown and

McIntyre (1981, p. 245), who describe an action research model for school

curriculum innovation, also emphasise the ongoing nature of the chosen method:

‘Collection of data ... may then generate further hypotheses and modified

principles, and so on as we move towards a greater understanding and

improvement of practice. This implies a continuous process of research and

the worth of the work is judged by the understanding of, and desirable

change in, the practice that is achieved’.

In the action phase, the study identified the problem through planning, acting,

observing and reflecting on professional practices through the 'core action research'

stages. During the observation phase of the ‘study action research’ it described

both the research and the procedure. The study then carried out an analysis and

evaluation of the results of the actions, both content and process, in light of the

literature review. During the reflection element of this thesis action, the study

provided a reflective opportunity to occur, as did prepositional conclusions with

proposals for areas of further research.

Action research needs to be planned in the same systematic way as any other type

of research and the methods selected for gathering information depend on the

nature of the information required. The study’s approach mimicked elements of

research proposed by the definition of Kemmis and McTaggart (1988), who

129 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

developed a concept for action research with a proposed spiral model comprising

four steps: planning, acting, observing and reflecting.

Figure 18: Carr and Kemmis’s Action Research Model (1986)

Figure 18 shows the four steps in action, the movement from one critical phase to

another, and the way in which progress may be made through the model. Faced

with the problem, the action researcher will go through a series of phases (reflect,

plan, action, observe) called the Action Research Cycle to systematically tackle the

problem.

Perry and Zuber-Skerritt (1991) also developed a concept for action research.

Phase 1

Phase 2

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Although the study begins with a specific design for the research, it leaves open the

possibility of changing or adapting the research methodology to suit the situation.

The 'emergent' character of action research provides this flexibility as it allows

questions to be asked of the results.

To give further emphasis for the appropriateness of action research to this research

design, the following were considered:

Figure 19: Initial Action Research Model Perry and Zuber-Skerritt (1991:76)

131 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

1) The study is limited to the statements and evidence to be collected from a

sampling of the Australian higher education sector. Establishing meaning is

the key purpose behind the methods of data collection and analysis so

qualitative approaches are more appropriate.

2) From a social perspective the study attempts to help university senior

executives to understand the value of strategic communication and how this

may more effectively be managed by placing a measureable value on work

to increase organisation reputation.

3) Because the study is investigative and reflective in its approach there is a

need to adopt flexible and open-ended methods of data collection, although

there needs to be an overarching framework to guide the study, achieved by

using an action research framework.

The methodology to be utilised in this study relates to the research objectives and

this is outlined in the following section.

4.6 DETAILED METHODOLOGY

A number of research objectives were undertaken as part of the methodological

interpretations to help conceptualise and ascertain best praxis. These included:-

» To undertake a holistic analysis of Australian university corporate

communication environments to determine current workplace practice;

» To draw upon existing data to understand the deficiencies of qualitative

data in the higher education context under investigation; and

» To conduct a structured in-depth survey questionnaire based on the

aforementioned to understand whether a system that measures the benefit

of strategic communication may enhance the reputation of the strategic

communication function.

132 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

This study postulates a sampling quota of Australian universities to ascertain views

towards the development of a communication measurement system. The

investigation is requisite to increase foundation knowledge in understanding the

characteristics of existing needs of university corporate communication offices.

Currently it appears that communication directors of Australian universities have

limited knowledge of, or the expertise to develop, real-time analytics that assist in

present and future evaluation of communication pedagogies.

This research will have a focus on qualitative and action research methods and

include: analytic induction; content analysis; the sampling survey questionnaire; and

textual analysis with possible reflection using historical method approaches. The

processes and methodology informing the study, and the subsequent development

of this study, are founded on the approaches, processes and actions associated with

work-based learning and action research (Armsby 2000, Armsby 2012, Cherry 1999,

Costley 2010, Dick 2002, Garnett 2009, Lester 2004, McNiff 2000, Williams 2004,

Zuber-Skerritt 2002).

The survey researches a sample number of institutions in the Australian higher

education sector and is limited to: a combination of predetermined questions

where yes/no or multi-choice responses are requested; Likert scales which will

indicate strength of agreement with a statement; and open questions where

respondents answer with free text. The representative quota was applied to gain a

good sample selection that was key to enabling a broad context of the population

being investigated.

Prior to developing the in-depth survey, the researcher acquired an awareness of

both internal and external factors that could possibly influence this research. The

next section outlines the assessment technique used to organise current

information which provided further assistance in formulating the research strategy.

4.6.1 SWOT ANALYSIS

To assist in the formulation of the pre-qualification questionnaire, a SWOT

(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis was used to categorise

133 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

known information into a logical order. A SWOT analysis is a classic strategic

planning tool. Using the framework of strengths and weaknesses and external

opportunities and threats, it provides a simple way to assess how a strategy can

best be implemented. The tool also assists the research plan in being realistic about

what can be achieved, and where the study should focus. The SWOT Analysis in

preparation for the research design is chronicled on the next page.

134 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Strengths

» Australian Government recognises need to steadily increase tertiary student numbers to 2025

» Literature review provided evidence of the need for strategic communication measurement

» Knowledge of tertiary education stakeholders

» Understanding of qualitative research outcomes from internal and external tertiary education stakeholders

» Completion of internal and external strategic communication plans which show the need to interact with and listen to stakeholders

» Continued support from external companies to work in partnership in the development of a communication measurement system for commercial use

» Public relations professionals interested in database to measure the benefits of employing strategic communication initiatives

Weaknesses

» Limited knowledge of beliefs and practices employed by public relations professionals

» Limited capacity to prove the effectiveness of strategic communication plans to enhance the higher education business objectives

» Limited capacity to prove the effectiveness of the System to measure higher education strategic communication effects on business objectives until intellectual property issues are actioned

» Ability to improve/modify the initial System to be more front-end user-friendly

» Educating university leaders to accept the outcomes of qualitative stakeholder research and the benefits of listening to stakeholder perceptions

» Increasing the awareness for strategic communication methods to be employed in universities

Opportunities

» For the System to be recognised as an instrument to accurately measure the benefits of strategic communication initiatives

» To deliver effective strategic communication initiatives which cause change in behaviours to help improve the business objectives for the higher education sector

» To raise the reputation of the higher education sector amongst stakeholders

» To educate public relations professionals so they become experts in their own domain using the System to measure efforts

» To increase the value of the public relations profession

Threats

» The university sector not identifying the value of or need for strategic communication plans

» University public relations professionals displaying little interest to advance the field of strategic communication measurement

» Not being able to simplify the database for commercial use

» Inability to produce the database resulting in a worsened perception of the public relations profession

» Inability to prove the benefits of accurately measuring strategic communication objectives

Figure 20: SWOT Analysis for Research Design

135 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

To further explain the SWOT analysis, major points are listed as:

Strengths

Literature review has confirmed the need to measure strategic

communication efforts to show/prove the value of performance

Australian Federal Government identified the importance of increasing the

population’s tertiary qualifications

Continued support from CorProfit to produce a system to measure strategic

communication

Weaknesses

Limited knowledge of beliefs and practices employed by the public relations

offices in Australian universities

Limited capacity to prove the effectiveness of the System to measure higher

education strategic communication effects on business objectives until

intellectual property issues are actioned. Increasing awareness for strategic

communication methods to be employed in universities

Opportunities

To raise the reputation of the higher education sector amongst key

stakeholder groups

For the System to be recognised as an instrument to accurately measure the

benefits of strategic communication initiatives

To educate public relations professionals so they become experts in their

own domain using the System

Threats

The University sector not identifying the value or need for strategic

communication plans

University public relations professionals displaying little interest to advance

the field of strategic communication measurement

Inability to prove the benefits of accurately measuring strategic

communication objectives

136 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The pre-qualifying questionnaire was designed to target the various aspects

identified in the SWOT analysis to provide meaningful and insightful evaluation to

the qualitative research. The questionnaire was constructed to gain understanding

about attitude and influences on decision-making, as the SWOT analysis and data

sets from previous research assisted in making judgments about the relative

performance and communication needs that reflect upon organisation’s

reputational image. This data was used to establish the pre-qualifying

questionnaire which was deemed appropriate and suitable to help benchmark the

communication determinants.

To further explain the research background, epistemological examples form part of

this chapter to demonstrate how actions to date have also influenced the research

plan.

4.6.2 EPISTEMOLOGY

The word epistemology comes from two Greek words: ‘Episteme’ meaning

knowledge, understanding; and ‘Logia’, meaning Science, Study (Löfgren 2013, p. 2).

In philosophy, epistemology is the study of knowledge, in general. An example of

an epistemological question would be – ‘How does a person get to know

something?’ If we look at a statement such as ‘I know that people have walked on

the moon’, for this to be true knowledge:

» It must be possible to justify the claim.

» It must also be a fact, i.e. people must have indeed been to the moon.

» And, finally, the person must also actually believe that people have walked

on the moon (Löfgren 2013, p. 6).

As a pre-cursor to this study, the researcher agrees that Löfgren’s (2013) argument

that epistemology theories and assumptions about knowledge creation aptly

informed the contextual obligations of the research design. For researchers,

epistemology is a key to understanding possibilities and conditions for creating new

knowledge in a world we consider as always unfinished, and in which both

137 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

researchers and ordinary people simultaneously find themselves in a reified and

existential relation to the field of practice.

Justifying a belief is done by using evidence. Epistemology has a significant impact

on the scientific endeavours of most scholars, given its importance for discussing

the limits to, and possibilities of creating and reporting on, new knowledge (Löfgren

2013). Throughout the course of this study, the importance of measuring the value

of communication activities was accentuated through discussions with workplace

colleagues and peers who understand and support this research. Such beliefs

influence the development of knowledge because they are considered to be the

central values or theories that are functionally connected to most other beliefs and

knowledge (Hofer & Pintrich 1997).

The epistemic beliefs that reinforced the nature and scope of this study emerged

from feedback received following conference presentations. As a presenter at the

2010 National Public Relations Conference in Darwin; the 2012 Annual Higher

Education Communication Officers’ Conference in Melbourne; and the 2014 Public

Relations Research Colloquium in Adelaide, the researcher provided an overview of

the System to peer public relations professionals. Following the 2012 Annual Higher

Education Communication Officers’ Conference in Melbourne, seventeen

universities inquired about piloting the System to measure the value of their

strategic communication activities.

Endorsement and feedback from these presentations fortified the researcher’s

resolve and conviction in knowing that measuring the effectiveness of strategic

communication initiatives was a common concern for many public relations

professionals.

This chapter has explicated the methodological review to not only demonstrate

understanding of this research, but also to show recognition of how this can be

accomplished. An outline of the merits and weaknesses of the research methods

and approaches have been shown so that the theoretical statements can be given

with greater confidence and show the limitations more honestly.

138 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

As previously mentioned, it is a requirement that USQ human research ethics

clearance must be obtained prior to commencing research involving human

participants. The next section outlines this approval process.

4.6.3 HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS APPLICATION

An overriding tenet to the research design and its methodology was the necessity

for human research ethics clearance, as the methodological approach relied

primarily on the participation, engagement and personal reflection of those to be

surveyed.

The research involved developing a sampling survey questionnaire to look at the

role of offices of public relations, and in particular strategic communications, within

the Australian university environment. Participants selected to undertake an online

survey questionnaire were drawn from the Universities Australia list of Directors of

Public Relations and Communication members. A sampling of six regional and six

metropolitan universities were chosen from various Australian states.

Human research ethics approval for research involving human participants must

be obtained prior to commencing research. As per the National Statement on

Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2012) research requires human ethics

clearance if it includes the involvement of human beings through any of the

following:

taking part in surveys, interviews or focus groups

undergoing psychological, physiological or medical testing or treatment

being observed by researchers

researchers having access to their personal documents or other materials

the collection and use of their body organs, tissues or fluids (e.g. skin, blood,

urine, saliva, hair, bones, tumour and other biopsy specimens) or their

exhaled breath

139 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

access to their information (in individually identifiable or re-identifiable

form) as part of an existing published or unpublished source of database

(National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2012).

Research ethical clearance under reference H12REA216 was granted on 4 January

2013 from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Human Research Ethics

Committee and, as part of the approval process, it was a requirement to obtain

gatekeeper permission before inviting the directors of public relations and

communication from Australian universities to participate in the research (appendix

B).

Interpreting data is a complex task and the following section describes the means to

be utilised when analysing the collection data. Identifying and refining important

concepts is a key part of the iterative process of qualitative research.

4.7 DATA ANALYSIS

Nine out of the twelve universities approached through the human research ethics

process agreed to participate in the research, and this represented 25 percent of

the Australian university population. For a large online survey, conventionally, a

response rate of 20 percent is considered a good response rate, while a 30 percent

response rate is considered to be really good (Dierckx 2013). In every

measurement, there are two components: the true measure of the variable, and

error (Yount 2006). In all statistical analysis, the objective is to minimise error and

maximise the true measure.

Samples for qualitative studies are generally much smaller than those used in

quantitative studies (Mason 2013). Ritchie, Lewis and Elam (2003) provide reasons

for this. There is a point of diminishing return to a qualitative sample - as the study

goes on more data does not necessarily lead to more information. This is because

one occurrence of a piece of data, or a code, is all that is necessary to ensure that it

becomes part of the analysis framework (Mason 2013). Frequencies are rarely

important in qualitative research, as one occurrence of the data is potentially as

useful as many in understanding the process behind a topic (Mason 2013). This is

140 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

because qualitative research is concerned with meaning and not making generalised

hypothesis statements (see also Crouch & McKenzie 2006). Finally, because

qualitative research is very labour-intensive, analysing a large sample can be time-

consuming and often simply impractical.

The option of selecting a large random sampling for this study was not the most

effective way of developing an understanding of the complex issues relating to

communication measurement. To obtain relevant data for the purpose of this

study, it was recognised that some informants were more likely to provide insight

and understanding representative of the whole population. An appropriate sample

size for this qualitative study was one that adequately answered the research

question and for this reason the small sampling study can be defended. A flexible

research design was employed and an iterative, cyclical approach to sampling, data

collection, analysis and interpretation was used.

As previously mentioned, qualitative data analysis involves the identification,

examination and interpretation of patterns and themes in textual data, and

determines how these patterns and themes help answer the research questions.

After administering the survey questionnaire and collecting data, the study will

analyse the findings of each of the research questions by way of thematic

interpretation, string analysis of data and ethnographic functions.

Thematic interpretation involves pinpointing, examining and recording patterns

within data (Daly, Kellehear, & Gliksman 1997). Coding is the primary process for

developing themes within the raw data by recognising important moments in the

data and encoding them prior to interpretation (Boyatzis 1998). The interpretation

of these codes can include comparing theme frequencies, identifying theme co-

occurrence, and graphically displaying relationships between different themes

(Guest & MacQueen 2012). Most researchers consider thematic analysis to be a

very useful method in capturing the intricacies of meaning within a data set (Guest

2012).

141 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The string analysis of data involves the breaking down of codes into sub-codes

(Weinstein 2005). Search strings will be achieved through the Survey Monkey

online research tool utilised in this study.

Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, ethnographic research methods began to be

widely employed by communication scholars. The purpose of ethnography is to

describe and interpret the shared and learned patterns of values, behaviours,

beliefs and language of a culture-sharing group (Harris 1968). Agar (1980) also

notes that ethnography is both a process and an outcome of the research.

Ethnographic work in communication studies seeks to explain ‘how’ ordinary

methods/practices/performances construct the ordinary actions used by ordinary

people in the accomplishments of their identities (Agar 1980). This often gives the

perception of trying to answer the ‘why’ and ‘how come’ questions of human

communication (Rubin, Rubin & Piele 2005).

In the examination of data, the grounded theory method will be considered as an

inductive approach. ‘A grounded theory is one that is inductively derived from the

study of the phenomenon it represents’ (Corbin & Strauss 2008, p. 23). As the data

is systematically analysed in relation to the research questions, the basic idea of the

grounded theory approach is to label variables, categories or concepts and their

interrelationships to produce certain outcomes.

4.8 CONCLUSION

Qualitative research was considered the most efficient and effective research

methodology for this project as it proposed to identify and analyse the principles

and practices of the strategic uses of communication within a sampling of

Australian universities. The results will expectantly provide knowledge and skills to

determine if the demand to accurately measure the effectiveness of listening to

stakeholder perceptions by applying communication strategies will help a university

maximise positive opportunity for profile or goodwill, while minimising potential

reputational risk.

142 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

As Richard Hackman (1992 p. 73) said, ‘The research question should drive the

methodology ... we take as a given whatever methodology we are comfortable with

or skilled in using and then adjust our research questions to fit’.

Classifying an approach as quantitative or qualitative, ethnographic, survey, action

research or whatever, does not mean that once an approach has been selected the

researcher may not move from the methods normally associated with that style

(Hackman 1992). Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses and each is

particularly suitable for a certain context. The approach adopted and the methods

of data collection selected depend on the nature of the enquiry and the type of

information required.

This investigation has a focus on qualitative and action research methods and

includes: analytic induction; content analysis; a sampling survey questionnaire; and

textual analysis, with possible reflection using historical method approaches.

The study is limited to a predetermined set of questions gleaned from discussions

with several university corporate communication directors and given focus by way

of a sample survey.

Mouton and Marais (1990 p. 44) state that the emphasis is on in-depth description

of an individual, group, situation or organisation. An integrated approach of a

qualitative sampling of Australian universities will provide intelligence into the

development of a communication measurement tool – the System. It appears that,

presently, Australian university communication directors have limited means of

comparing and measuring their management and communication practices and

organisational performance with other similar enterprises congruent with

reputational demands of the workplace.

The research is undertaken to identify significant performance insights using

qualitative methodologies to assist in the development of a key communication

system contiguous to the better management of reputational issues by measuring

the benefits of strategic communication. Research results will expectantly increase

the ability for communication directors to evaluate and measure the relative

143 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

effectiveness of current practices to better inform and allow them to improve their

organisational communication performance and practice.

The next chapter will present the survey research and findings.

144 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

CHAPTER FIVE SURVEY RESEARCH AND FINDINGS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

As cited throughout the thesis, the problem to be addressed in this study is to

understand how a communication measurement value may assist university senior

executives in placing greater worth on areas where it matters most: its strategic

communication to varied communities.

Surveys are one of the most frequently used methods of social research, and are

utilised by the government, academic researchers in universities, campaign

organisations, marketing researchers, opinion pollsters, and many similar groups.

All surveys aim to describe or explain the characteristics or opinions of a general

population through the use of a representative sample.

To restate, this survey was conducted with the aim of discovering current

communication practices implemented by Australian universities and, in particular,

how Australian universities measure the effectiveness of public relations. It has

been shown that public relations has come of age, and with that has come a

responsibility for universities to build understanding, credibility and trust with their

publics. Learning the structure, environment and practices of university corporate

communication departments will provide information to understand whether

practitioners engage in typically journalistic activities at the technical level or if they

have advanced to a more managerial role that sits closer to the top of the hierarchy

of the university to influence decision-making and take responsibility for the

public’s orientation toward the university.

Questions will assess how senior executives in the sector value strategic

communication, what techniques public relations offices utilise, how each office is

resourced and the value placed upon their activities to the overall business

environment. This understanding is essential before progressing with the future

development of a system which measures the effectiveness of communication

activities.

145 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

As with all data, analysis and interpretation was required to bring understanding to

the responses. For this qualitative study, a systematic approach was undertaken.

Data was initially analysed by repeatedly reviewing all respondents’ answers to

classify consistencies and differences. To bring meaning to data, themes and

patterns were then identified and these were further organised into categories.

The initial list of categories changed throughout the iterative process and

connections were also made both within and between the categories.

Understanding the limitations to the study and assessing the relative importance of

the themes to the research question was important in giving credibility to the final

analysis.

5.2 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

To review, the survey questionnaire sought to establish an understanding of the

current strategic communication initiatives utilised by Australian regional and

metropolitan universities. It was necessary to discover how the sector may better

manage reputation amongst stakeholders through the System which would be both

beneficial and relevant to industry needs. Was there a need for a communication

measurement tool in the higher education sector? Would the measurement tool

allow senior executives to take a leading role with their stakeholders if

communication professionals could provide evidence to show the value of strategic

communications?

As has been shown, in the higher education sector, measurement and

benchmarking are critical to show continuous improvement. The survey identifies

the practices and major issues facing public relations offices within Australian

universities. The results provide evidenced-based research to ascertain if there is a

need to further develop the System.

The study was designed to gather trending data, to provide insight into behaviours

and responsibilities, to gauge the impact on the university’s business objectives, to

measure the impact and resourcing of - both staff and budget; and to gather topical

data to address new or emerging issues that are relevant to the public relations

146 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

profession. Secondary objectives include identifying key channels of

communication which have proved most effective, and job satisfaction.

5.2.1 QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES

Participants selected to undertake this on-line survey questionnaire were drawn

from the Universities Australia list of Directors of Public Relations and

Communication members. A sampling of six regional and six metropolitan

universities were chosen from various Australian States and permission was

obtained from nine out of the twelve universities approached. This equated to a

sampling of 25 percent of the entire representative population.

The survey research questions and responses are set out below, and at the end of

this chapter, details of the survey breakdown and a summary of the research

findings are provided.

147 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 1 – How many staff are employed at your university?

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Less than 500 0.0 percent 0

500 - 999 11.1 percent 1

1000 - 1999 44.4 percent 4

2000 - 2999 0.0 percent 0

3000 - 3999 33.3 percent 3

4000 - 4999 0.0 percent 0

5000 - 5999 0.0 percent 0

6000 - 6999 0.0 percent 0

7000+ 11.1 percent 1

Graph 1: How many staff are employed at your university?

Question 2 - What is the job title for your current position?

1. Manager 2. Manager, Media and Public Relations 3. Marketing and Communications Director 4. Executive Director, Marketing & Communications 5. Strategic Communications and Media Advisor 6. Director, Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations 7. Director, Public Affairs 8. Director, Communications 9. Director, Corporate Communications

How many staff are employed at your university?

Less than500500 - 999

1000 - 1999

2000 - 2999

3000 - 3999

4000 - 4999

148 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 3 - Looking at the organisational structure of your university, who do you

directly report to?

1. Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor 2. Director, Office of Marketing and Communication 3. PVC International and Quality 4. Provost 5. Executive Director, Policy Planning and External Relations 6. Director, Sustainable Business and Management Improvement 7. Dual reporting lines - Operationally to the Vice-Chancellor; functionally

to the Executive Director, Academic Services 8. The Provost 9. University Secretary

Question 4 – Do you believe this level of organisational management adequately

meets the needs of your office?

Graph 2: Do you believe this level of organisational management adequately meets the needs of your office?

Yes 66.7 percent No 33.3 percent

Comments:

1. Depends as much on the person as the position 2. While the position considers aspects of risk management – Sustainable

Business Management Improvement (SBMI) is largely policy-based providing an internal audit function to the University. Having corporate communications report to this level removes its functionality and responsibility from the Vice-Chancellor thus limiting its effectiveness and reporting ability to what is ordinarily the CEO. One of the risks of having a corporate communication office report to SBMI is that there is limited understanding of what corporate communication and public relations does.

149 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

3. The role should report directly to the Vice-Chancellor. Question 5 – How important is it that your organisational unit reports directly to

the Vice-Chancellor?

Graph 3: How important is it that your organisational unit directly reports to the Vice-Chancellor?

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Very important 44.4 percent 4

Important 44.4 percent 4

Unimportant 11.1 percent 1

Very unimportant 0.0 percent 0

Why? 7

Comments:

1. A lot of our work is directly involved with the Vice-Chancellor, who has regular contact with myself and my staff.

2. I think it's important that there is at least a close link and close communications with the Office of the Vice-Chancellor if not a direct reporting relationship, to ensure a good flow of information back and forth.

3. Current reporting works OK because of the person. Still have direct access to VC when required.

4. I report indirectly to the Vice-Chancellor. It means he doesn't need to be involved in the operational side of my role such as approving leave etc. My immediate supervisor only asks that I keep him informed of my dealings with the VC and to discuss any broader strategic issues.

5. Apart from the business as usual functions of the office, reporting directly to the Vice-Chancellor provides increased credibility and recognition of the importance of the office and what it can bring to senior management and to the organisational structure. Reporting to the VC would provide a conduit for information of a corporate nature which could impact on issues management functions and the ability to

150 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

be in touch with key decision makers across the University. In many instances corporate communications is the first port of call when an issue impacts and being removed from the power structure limits the functionality and expert advice which could be quickly provided. From a budgetary position reporting to the VC would also give a priority to the everyday activities of the office and bring increased support and recognition of its functions.

6. Because this unit and my role specifically manage the University's reputation and nothing is more important to an organisation than its reputation. Also communications underpins all internal and external activities at the University.

7. While it is not imperative that the Vice-Chancellor is 'line manager' for the role, it is imperative that the role/organisational unit has direct access (and a level of accountability) to the Vice-Chancellor, to ensure the unit is accurately reflecting his/her strategic aims in the work that it does.

Question 6 – Please indicate your highest level of formal education

Graph 4: Please indicate your highest level of education

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Secondary school 11.1 percent 1

TAFE qualification 0.0 percent 0

Professional qualification through cadetship 0.0 percent 0

Diploma qualification 0.0 percent 0

Degree qualification 55.6 percent 5

Masters qualification 22.2 percent 2

Doctoral qualification 11.1 percent 1

151 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 7 – Please indicate your age in the range below

Graph 5: Age Demographic

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

20 or younger 0.0 percent 0

21 - 30 0.0 percent 0

31 - 40 33.3 percent 3

41 - 50 33.3 percent 3

51 - 60 33.3 percent 3

61 - 70 0.0 percent 0

Older than 70 0.0 percent 0

152 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 8 – What is your gender?

Graph 6: Gender Demographic

Female 44.4 percent Male 55.6 percent

Question 9 – Please indicate your salary range?

Graph 7: Salary Range

153 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Please indicate your salary range.

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

$50,000 - $69,000 0.0 percent 0

$70,000 - $89,000 0.0 percent 0

$90,000 - $109,000 22.2 percent 2

$110,000 - $119,000 0.0 percent 0

$120,000 - $139,000 0.0 percent 0

$140,000 - $159,000 11.1 percent 1

$160,000 - $179,000 22.2 percent 2

$180,000 - $199,000 22.2 percent 2

$200,000 - $219,000 11.1 percent 1

$220,000 - $249,000 0.0 percent 0

$250,000+ 0.0 percent 0

Prefer not to respond 11.1 percent 1

Question 10 – In comparison to other professions, are you satisfied with your salary level?

Graph 8: Salary Level Satisfaction

Yes 66.7 percent No 33.3 percent

Comments:

1. I work half time, so above ranges a bit meaningless 2. Over the past several years the role of the corporate communication

office has shifted dramatically from a promotion and publicity function to a strategic communication purpose. Comparable positions in the public and private sector acknowledge the level of expertise and responsibility that comes with the position and provides remuneration accordingly. In relation to other positions across the University I feel that this position carries a salary level at the lower end of the scale.

154 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 11 – My salary compensates for the amount of hours I am compelled to

work

Graph 9: Salary compensation analysis

Agree 77.8 percent 7

Disagree 22.2 percent 2

Comments:

1. This role is more about the level of responsibility and strategic direction offered rather than hours worked

2. Currently work 70+ hours a week 3. Being on call 24/7 and also providing the level of advice expected as well

as the everyday management functions of the position is one that needs to remunerate for the after-hours work.

155 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 12 – Please indicate your level of job satisfaction

Graph 10: Job Satisfaction

Comments:

1. The position provides a high level of satisfaction however my qualification of satisfied is based around the level of budgetary support and overall recognition that is given to this office. Having to work and produce high levels of output with little or no budgetary support does not provide for job satisfaction or high levels of morale.

156 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 13 – How many years have you worked in the public relations industry?

Graph 11: Years of Professional Experience

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

1 - 5 0.0 percent 0

6 - 10 22.2 percent 2

11 - 15 22.2 percent 2

16 - 20 22.2 percent 2

21 - 25 0.0 percent 0

26 - 30 0.0 percent 0

31 - 35 22.2 percent 2

More than 35 11.1 percent 1

157 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 14 – How many years have you worked in the higher education sector?

Graph 12: Years in Higher Education Sector

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

1 - 5 44.4 percent 4

6 - 10 11.1 percent 1

11 - 15 22.2 percent 2

16 - 20 0.0 percent 0

21 - 25 11.1 percent 1

26 - 30 11.1 percent 1

31 - 35 0.0 percent 0

More than 35 0.0 percent 0

158 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 15 – How many staff are employed in your office?

Graph 13: Number of office staff members

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

1 - 3 11.1 percent 1

4 - 6 11.1 percent 1

7 - 9 33.3 percent 3

10 - 15 11.1 percent 1

16 - 19 22.2 percent 2

20+ 11.1 percent 1

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Question 16 – How many of your employees have tertiary qualifications?

Graph 14: Office Staff Qualifications

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

All 22.2 percent 2

Most 66.7 percent 6

Few 11.1 percent 1

None 0.0 percent 0

160 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 17 – Please indicate the number of your employees with these

qualifications

Graph 15: Number and level of tertiary qualifications

Answer Options Response Average

Response Total

Response Count

Diploma qualification 2.00 8 4

Degree qualification 6.00 48 8

Masters qualification 1.50 3 2

Doctoral qualification 1.00 1 1

161 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 18 – In your office, how many employees are presently undertaking further studies?

Graph 16: Number of staff undertaking further study

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

0 11.1 percent 1

1 44.4 percent 4

2 22.2 percent 2

3 11.1 percent 1

4 0.0 percent 0

5 0.0 percent 0

6 0.0 percent 0

7 0.0 percent 0

8 0.0 percent 0

9 0.0 percent 0

10+ 11.1 percent 1

Please comment giving the level of qualification they are working toward.

6

Comments:

1. Masters 2. Master of Professional Communication 3. Graduate Diploma 4. Professional Doctorate and Master qualification in on-line

communication 5. It varies from technical qualifications (eg printing industry) to degree

qualifications and professional qualifications (eg MBA) 6. MBA and Degree

162 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 19 – Within your office, how many staff are employed with specific public relations duties?

Graph 17: Number of staff working in public relations

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

1 0.0 percent 0

2 0.0 percent 0

3 33.3 percent 3

4 22.2 percent 2

5 0.0 percent 0

6 0.0 percent 0

7 11.1 percent 1

8 0.0 percent 0

9 11.1 percent 1

10 0.0 percent 0

11 - 15 22.2 percent 2

16 - 19 0.0 percent 0

20+ 0.0 percent 0

Comment (if desired) 4

Comments: 1. Everyone pitches in and does public relations duties when we have

events, etc. 2. I have two teams - a Media team, that takes care of publicity/media

liaison as well as issues/crisis management; and an Events team that takes care of event organisation on behalf of the VC's office.

3. The public relations functions of the position largely are strategic based and put in place not only external communication programs but also internal communication plans of a high end nature.

4. Difficult to define 'public relations'; all employees have a communications function of some sort.

163 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 20 – From the duties listed below, please indicate which public relations tasks are performed in your office (tick all that apply)

Graph 18: Public relations responsibilities of the office

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Feature writing 100.0 percent 9

Issues and crisis management 100.0 percent 9

Event organisation 66.7 percent 6

Strategic communication advice to Council and Senior Executive

100.0 percent 9

Internal communication 88.9 percent 8

External communication 100.0 percent 9

Qualitative research of stakeholders 22.2 percent 2

Speech writing 66.7 percent 6

Email message approval and control 55.6 percent 5

Media liaison and monitoring 100.0 percent 9

Social media monitoring and management 88.9 percent 8

Government relations 33.3 percent 3

Community engagement 55.6 percent 5

Annual Report 66.7 percent 6

Strategic Plan 33.3 percent 3

Other publications 77.8 percent 7

Master of ceremonies 33.3 percent 3

Other (please specify) 2

164 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 21 – Approximately how much time would you spend on each of the duties listed below?

Graph 19: Percentage of time spent on public relations activities

165 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Answer Options 0% 5% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50+% Response

Count

Media relations 0 2 2 0 4 0 0 8

Marketing 3 0 1 2 0 1 0 7

Corporate communication

0 1 1 5 2 0 0 9

Community relations 0 6 1 0 0 0 0 7

Event planning 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 8

PR consulting 1 4 2 1 0 0 0 8

Reputation management

0 4 2 2 1 0 0 9

Research 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 5

Crisis communication 0 5 4 0 0 0 0 9

Business development

4 0 1 0 0 0 0 5

Public Affairs/Government relations

1 4 3 0 0 0 0 8

Human resources 1 5 2 0 0 0 0 8

Other (please specify) 1

Comments: This question is not clear - do you mean me personally? In this unit we have a media relations officer who would spend almost 100 percent of his time working on this. Branding is also part of my duties which is not a specific duty listed.

166 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 22 – Please rate the following communication channels that provide you with optimal impact to deliver information to external stakeholders.

Graph 20: External communication channels

Answer Options Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Response

Count

Print media 4 4 0 0 0 8

Social media 2 1 6 0 0 9

Television 3 4 2 0 0 9

Radio interviews 3 4 2 0 0 9

Brochures/flyers 0 1 2 2 4 9

Email 3 1 3 1 1 9

Electronic newsletter 0 3 3 3 0 9

Face-to-face meetings 4 4 0 1 0 9

Events 3 3 2 0 1 9

Video recorded messages 0 2 4 3 0 9

Website 3 3 0 2 1 9

Letters 0 3 1 4 1 9

Other (please specify) 0

Question 23 – Looking at the communication channels below, please rate the effectiveness of the choices given to deliver information to staff at your university?

167 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Graph 21: Most effective internal communication channel

Answer Options Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Response

Count

Online staff page 0 3 4 0 2 9

Email 2 3 3 1 0 9

Video recorded message 0 4 3 1 1 9

All staff forums 3 4 2 0 0 9

Website 2 4 1 1 1 9

Internal newsletter 0 6 3 0 0 9

Divisional meetings/forums 3 3 2 1 0 9

Personal visit to sections 3 3 2 0 1 9

Social media - blog, twitter etc

0 3 1 4 0 8

Internal print publication 0 2 6 1 0 9

Electronic noticeboards 1 2 2 3 1 9

Other (please specify) 0

168 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 24 – Do you agree or disagree that people who receive material from your office expect the information to be honest, and advocate a transparent and ethical culture?

Graph 22: Behavioural assessment of material produced

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Question 25 – How often do you consult with the Vice-Chancellor?

Graph 23: Frequency of meetings with Vice-Chancellor

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Unlimited access 33.3 percent 3

Daily 0.0 percent 0

Weekly 33.3 percent 3

Monthly 0.0 percent 0

If required 33.3 percent 3

170 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 26 – In your meetings with the Vice-Chancellor, please indicate on a scale of 1-8, the most common reasons for the interaction?

Graph 24: Purpose of meetings with Vice-Chancellor

Answer Options 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rating Average

Response Count

Communication planning 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 1 3.89 9

Developing and reviewing copy

0 1 1 1 2 1 0 3 5.44 9

Developing key messages

1 1 3 1 1 2 0 0 3.67 9

Crisis communication 0 2 0 3 0 3 0 1 4.67 9

University reputation 3 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 3.56 9

Diary/event planning 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 5.78 9

Government relations 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 6.00 9

Media activities 1 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 3.00 9

171

Question 27 – Overall, do you believe that senior management appear to appreciate the value of strategic communication now more than in the past?

Graph 25: Senior management value of strategic communication

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 88.9 percent 8

No 11.1 percent 1

Comment (if desired): 3

Comments:

1. They understand the importance of communications but do not understand (a) the need to "talk" in a language accessible to all staff/students (eg academic discourse is seen as appropriate) and (b) the attendant need to further and adequately resource the function - strategic communication plans are seen as something that can be rolled out within hours. Social media is also seen as an add-on that takes minutes per day, rather than a carefully planned and managed activity.

2. Certainly some aspects of senior management do value the role of strategic communication; however it is becoming increasingly difficult to embed the strategic communication needs within the everyday workplace. In many instances the role of communication is only offered value when there is an issue or a crisis that needs to be deflected or when senior management wish to profile themselves. The everyday activities of the office are seen to play more of a promotion and publicity role in many minds and educating management to the value of strategic indication is one of the challenges facing the communication office.

3. Yes, but there's still a long way to go.

172 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 28 – Which of the following best describes the main purpose of communication activities in your office?

Graph 26: Focus and purpose of communication activities

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Mainly involved in processing the flow of information 11.1 percent 1

Helping to define the business environment, affecting awareness levels, attitudes and behaviour of stakeholders

88.9 percent 8

Please comment on your response. 5

Comments:

1. The office of Marketing and Communication is responsible for communicating with a wide range of the University's stakeholders, including students, staff, government, industry and community. The wide range of communications, both internal and external, from this office I think, are helping to increase public awareness of the university and strengthening and protecting its reputation among its many stakeholders.

2. Helping to define the business environment, affecting awareness levels, attitudes and behaviour of stakeholders SHOULD be what we do. All too often this is subsumed by day-to-day activity. Additionally many staff in comms roles have come from either an administrative background (moved into role by default because they have produced an internal department newsletter) or from a journalism background. In both cases, an understanding of strategic communications (i.e. what is the impact beyond sending this press release) is lacking.

173 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

3. We have recently moved to a more pro-active approach to public relations with additional resources allocated. We have also moved the communications staff into a unit which indirectly reports to the VC.

4. Mostly the communication functions of the office tend to rely on media relations as this seems to be the more easily recognised and tested measure of performance. However in recent years strategic communication that impacts on the reputational awareness and activities of the University have become a priority and the issues management responsibilities are becoming uppermost in the minds of stakeholder groups.

5. While we want to be focusing more on the latter, the reality is we do more of the former on a daily basis.

Question 29 – Are you satisfied with the level of university funding budgeted for public relations activities?

Graph 27: Level of satisfaction for public relations budget

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Very unsatisfied 33.3 percent 3

Somewhat unsatisfied 22.2 percent 2

Somewhat satisfied 44.4 percent 4

Very satisfied 0.0 percent 0

Comment 2

174 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Comments:

1. It is a constant battle to put forward requests for funding – because in many instances the University receives positive media coverage which is provided free of charge so unfortunately senior management see no need to fund the everyday activities of the office. Consequently external communication plans and internal communication programs largely go neither funded nor supported although there is a management desire for these to be a priority for the office.

2. It's a constant battle to do what we need to do with what we're allocated. The focus is on simply trying to maintain activities, rather than trying to keep trying for best practice.

Question 30 – Has your office experienced an increase or decrease in funding this year?

Graph 28: Funding budget comparison 2013-2014

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Significant increase 11.1 percent 1

Increase 11.1 percent 1

Stayed the same 33.3 percent 3

Decrease 33.3 percent 3

Significant decrease 11.1 percent 1

175 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Comment:

1. When the office was initially established funding for projects came from the Vice-Chancellor's contingency funds however these have been significantly decreased in recent years. The non-support for the office is of a major concern to the extent that it is impacting significantly on the effectiveness and morale of staff.

Question 31 – Please indicate your public relations budget range below.

Graph 29: Public relations budget ranges

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Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Less than $50,000 11.1 percent 1

$50,000 - $69,000 0.0 percent 0

$70,000 - $89,000 11.1 percent 1

$90,000 - $109,000 0.0 percent 0

$110,000 - $119,000 0.0 percent 0

$120,000 - $139,000 0.0 percent 0

$140,000 - $159,000 0.0 percent 0

$160,000 - $179,000 11.1 percent 1

$180,000 - $199,000 11.1 percent 1

$200,000 - $219,000 0.0 percent 0

$220,000 - $249,000 0.0 percent 0

$250,000 - $300,000 0.0 percent 0

$300,000 - $400,000 0.0 percent 0

$400,000 - $500,000 0.0 percent 0

$500,000+ 33.3 percent 3

Prefer not to respond 22.2 percent 2

Question 32 – Are you included as a member on the university’s high-level decision making committees?

Graph 30: Committee membership

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 66.7 percent 6

No 33.3 percent 3

Comment (if desired) 2

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Comments:

1. It is my consideration that the role of the office would be substantially increased if first-hand understanding of the issues was available. This can only be provided by the Director having first-hand knowledge of and involvement in the higher-level management decisions and discussions of the University. To provide the office with filtered information detracts from the effectiveness and professionalism that the office can provide.

2. I am in some of them, but not in others.

Question 33 – If not, do you believe your position should be included on the membership of the university’s high-level committees?

Graph 31: Involvement on high-level committees

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 60.0 percent 3

No 40.0 percent 2

Comment 2

Comments:

1. I think the important thing is that the views of the Media/Communications team are valued and listened to. We are not members of the Executive who make the big operational decisions on behalf of the University, however we are heavily involved and regularly consulted on issues management and the best way to communicate the decisions of the University, and our strategic input is highly valued in our organisation.

2. There would never be time to do any work.

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Question 34 – How much do you agree or disagree that the senior executive of your university believes that your office contributes to moving forward in terms of the following?

Graph 32: Office contribution to university strategies

Answer Options Strongly

agree Agree Disagree

Strongly disagree

Rating Average

Response Count

Reputation of the university

7 2 0 0 1.22 9

Financial success of the university

2 3 4 0 2.22 9

Community engagement 3 5 1 0 1.78 9

Government relations 3 4 2 0 1.89 9

Achieving business objectives

4 3 2 0 1.78 9

179 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 35 – How important do you think each of the following issues are to the university and to your practice of public relations?

Graph 33: Public relations impact on university issues

Answer Options Very important

Important Uncertain Not important

Very unimportant

Rating Average

Government regulation

4 4 1 0 0 1.67

University reputation

9 0 0 0 0 1.00

Educating management

7 2 0 0 0 1.22

Educating staff 6 3 0 0 0 1.33

Educating the public

6 3 0 0 0 1.33

Value of data 5 2 2 0 0 1.67

Measurement of communication

5 3 1 0 0 1.56

180 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 36 – In the scale below please indicate how frequently your

advice/action has been sought only after a problem arises?

Graph 34: Crisis communication advice

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Never 0.0 percent 0

Rarely 22.2 percent 2

Often 55.6 percent 5

Always 22.2 percent 2

Please comment on your response 4 4

Comments:

1. We have a crisis communications plan and are generally kept in the loop. 2. Generally consulted after the fact in 7 / 10 cases. 3. While the tide is slowly turning, I am often only alerted to an issue after

it has escalated and reactive media is our only option. We are in a process of educating the Senior Executive of the benefits of engaging us early.

4. Crisis management by its nature is usually responsive rather than proactive.

181 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 37 – Please indicate the level to which internal communications to the whole of the university are drafted by you or members of your office.

Graph 35: Development of internal communication material

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Always 22.2 percent 2

Very Frequently 44.4 percent 4

Frequently 33.3 percent 3

Infrequently 0.0 percent 0

Very infrequently 0.0 percent 0

182 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 38 – If communication material is not composed in your office, are you allocated responsibility to review and edit written internal communication prior to release?

Graph 36: Sanction of internal communication

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 28.6 percent 2

No 0.0 percent 0

Sometimes 71.4 percent 5

Question 39 – Do you see this as important to develop consistency in messaging, tone, style and timeframe guidelines?

Graph 37: Consistent communication messaging, tone and style

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 100.0 percent 9

No 0.0 percent 0

183 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 40 – I am interested in knowing if your traditional news media sources involve print/broadcast or online versions.

Graph 38: News sources

Answer Options Never Infrequently Neither

frequently nor infrequently

Frequently Very

frequently Rating

Average

How frequently do you read print editions of newspapers, magazines and newsletters?

0 1 0 3 5 4.33

How frequently do you read online versions of newspapers, magazines and newsletters?

0 1 1 4 3 4.00

How frequently do you view or listen to broadcast editions of radio and television news?

0 1 1 4 3 4.00

How frequently do you receive information from online versions of radio and television news reports?

1 0 1 3 4 4.00

184 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 41 – How important do you think it is for you to provide evidence of the benefits and value of public relations objectives?

Graph 39: Importance of evidence in showing value of activities

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Very important 88.9 percent 8

Somewhat important 11.1 percent 1

Unimportant 0.0 percent 0

Waste of time 0.0 percent 0

Why (please specify) 4 4

Comments:

1. I am confident our organisation already knows the benefits 2. Evidence-based measures would allow the office to be seen as a credible

entity in that the organisational structure would effectively assist in achieving budgetary support and management outcomes.

3. Cost : benefit must be established 4. To justify expenditure and to keep improving so we can eventually reach

best practice.

185 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 42 – Do you measure the impact that communications has on your university’s business objectives?

Graph 40: Do you measure the impact of communications?

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 88.9 percent 8

No 11.1 percent 1

186 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 43 – If so, please identify the method or methods which are applied to measure this impact?

Graph 41: Communication measurement methods

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Return on investment 0.0 percent 0

Media tracking and analysis 87.5 percent 7

Stakeholder attitudes 62.5 percent 5

Advertising equivalencies 37.5 percent 3

Question 44 – Do you have an awareness of your University’s reputational issues?

Graph 42: Awareness of university reputational issues

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 100.0 percent 9

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Question 45 – If yes, would you please explain what tools you employ from the list below?

Graph 43: Methods used to gauge reputation

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Focus Groups 66.7 percent 6

Interviews 22.2 percent 2

Word of mouth 77.8 percent 7

Other (please specify) 1 1

Comment:

1. Media coverage and journalist enquiries; conversations with staff and students

188 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 46 – Have you used the services of an external public relations consultant?

Graph 44: Use of external public relations consultants

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 66.7 percent 6

No 33.3 percent 3

Question 47 – comments?

Comments:

1. Crisis management 2. Internal consultation in developing spec for new CMS. 3. Drafting communications plans for specific issues; some crisis

communication assistance 4. We engaged a PR consultant for a major project to develop key

messaging and a communication plan. It was disappointing as they did not value add and were dismissed prior to the projects launch.

5. Services provided range from general communication but also at times give high-level expert advice of a confidential nature. Generally the consulting services are given umbrella overview to the work being undertaken and assist with the production of annual report style publications.

189 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

6. Advancement of media coverage and public profile in specialist geographic areas.

Question 48 – Would you see a benefit in forming an online networking group with other Australian universities?

Graph 45: Australian universities public relations networking group

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Yes 88.9 percent 8

No 11.1 percent 1

Please comment 7

Comments:

1. Maybe - this already exists to some extent via Linked In. 2. Maybe. There will be those who use it and those who don't. 3. Absolutely. Many of us are facing similar issues (reductions in staffing/

changes to curriculum/ faculty or school reductions and closures) - understanding how different organisations are dealing with the various communication challenges and developing best practice models would be invaluable.

4. I think it is important to learn from your peers and to have an outlet to seek assistance or discuss how a particular situation was handled. Case studies would be very useful.

5. As the University sector moves into more of the corporate sphere where issues and reputational impacts are of an increasing importance to be able to share ideas with colleagues within the sector is commendable. Benefits would allow colleagues to benchmark best practices and also provide insight into how issues may have impacted on universities and how they have been dealt with. A network would also provide a professional recognition to the work of the office.

6. The common issues in the higher education sector are of a very broad nature and most universities have a common understanding of those issues. The range of universities and their missions is such that most other issues are localised.

7. Because the sector - and, consequently, our job - has never been more challenging and we need to share information and advice to keep up.

190 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Question 49 – Which one of the following do you consider to be the profession’s greatest, single challenge?

Graph 46: Profession’s greatest single challenge

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Upholding credibility within an environment where the lines between public relations, advertising and journalism are growing increasingly vague?

33.3 percent 3

Universalising our ability to demonstrate a clear Return-on-PR-Investment measurement, thereby proving the value of public relations?

77.8 percent 7

Maintaining a high ethical standard in light of questionable business tactics?

0.0 percent 0

Providing a proper and thorough educational system for preparing the new generation of public relations professionals on a level which is consistent with the legal and medical professions?

0.0 percent 0

Comments:

1. It is often quite hard (particularly within our limited budgets) to really provide management with an accurate analysis of our value as PR/media professionals, and to measure the value that our work brings to the University in terms of reputation-building and awareness.

2. Got to justify the budget expenditure.

191 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

3. It is so hard to quantify the value of Public Relations and often our value is underestimated.

4. As funding becomes an increasing challenge, it grows ever harder to prove our value to the business and the industry.

Question 50 - How can we improve the value of strategic communication and public relations within the university sector?

For your written comment

1. Difficult to comment - public relations is well thought of and our services/expertise valued in our organisation from the VC down. It is difficult to answer as Public Relations and our actual day to day functions vary significantly between Universities.

2. Closely align the strategies of the communications and PR offices with the broader strategies of the university. Ensure that the communications/PR office has a direct and close line to the decision-makers of the university, including, importantly, the VC's office. Strategic communication that is valued at the Executive level is really important to helping build the overall reputation and awareness of the university.

3. Ensure professionalism and central control, rather than having faculties running around doing their own thing.

4. Develop a network of professional membership, where we can draw on others experience and share our own to develop best practice models / test ideas and approaches - develop a standard set of metrics that we report against so there is consistency across the sector (and therefore a consistent expectation from senior management) - educate senior management to understand the resource - needs educate senior management to understand that what they don’t see in the media is sometimes more important than what appears (crisis management) - media training from an external party (LH Martin perhaps) for senior executives.

5. I believe greater collaboration is needed. Stronger networks across Universities and an ability to learn from others’ hurdles.

6. One of the prerequisites to strategic communication is the ability to effectively measure the likely impact of issues on the University. Such a measure would allow experts to put in place communication plans and procedures that would effectively mitigate reputation damage.

7. Remain true to the mission of the university. 8. By showing that communication is not an add-on or a `nice-to-have' but

an essential and indispensable part of any organisation which values its stakeholders.

9. Better align communication and marketing functions of universities to ensure seamless messaging, look-and-feel and audience targeting across all public information. Fully integrate social media into traditional activities. Speak to target audiences 'where they live' (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc) in an authentic voice, and stay abreast of emerging channels in this fast-moving space.

192 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Following are details of the survey breakdown and a brief summary of the research

findings.

5.3 SURVEY SECTIONS

The survey is presented in three sections:-

1 Structures, behaviours and responsibilities of the sampled Australian

university public relations offices;

2 The relevance of public relations, specifically strategic communication, to

the success of the overall objectives of the sampled universities; and

3 The importance of measuring communication activities.

Themes and patterns were identified and organised into categories following

examination to classify consistencies and differences in the responses. Data was

then analysed and is detailed in the next section with descriptive text and graphs to

assist with readability and to emphasise important information. A detailed

discussion of the research findings, the System overview, conclusion and

recommendations is provided in chapter six.

5.4 SURVEY ANALYSIS – SECTION ONE

This section gives an insight into the structures, behaviours and responsibilities of

the sampled Australian university public relations offices. It was important to

distinguish the purpose of each office in various university structures so greater

meaning could be given to the research findings to discover whether there was a

need to further develop the strategic communication measurement system. An

analysis of the data collected for each survey question in Section 1 is outlined

below.

193 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

A) SUPERVISOR NAME TITLES

» In the sampling of Australian universities, with a variance of between

1000 to over 7000 employees, 22 percent of public relations offices

include the name marketing in their department title.

Many people use the terms public relations and marketing interchangeably and the

difference between these professions is not assisted when they are linked together

under a department title of ‘Marketing and Public Relations’. A review of Australian

universities shows that courses in marketing are mainly through study in the Faculty

of Business and courses in public relations are mainly offered through the Faculty of

Arts. The truth is they are not the same thing.

Marketing involves selling the goods – the products are promoted. In public

relations, the company is promoted – gauging public perception, managing and

building the organisation’s reputation and profile with the public (Kulkarni 2013).

The definition of marketing as approved by the Marketing Association of Australia

and New Zealand states that – ‘Marketing consists of activities that facilitate and

expedite satisfying exchange relationships in a dynamic environment through the

creation, distribution, promotion and pricing of products (goods, services and

ideas)’ (2013).

In the context of the study, the 2012 Public Relations Society of America definition

of public relations was used:- ‘Public relations is a strategic communication process

that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their

publics.’

According to Professor and researcher Cristian Guerrero-Castro (2011) professionals

from various disciplines are working on strategic communication and it is not

marketing, public relations, business, advertising, journalist, psychology, sociology

or social communication but strategic communication that selects, leads, integrates,

coordinates, activates and executes the resources of these disciplines (Guerrero-

Castro, 2011). He says that strategic communication is the integration between

strategy science and mass communication (Guerrero-Castro 2011).

194 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

B) SUPERVISOR TITLES

» Approximately 78 percent of people who head up the public relations

offices in Australia universities are referred to as Directors or Executive

Directors. There are marginally more males than females in these roles

and the average age is 48 years.

C) AVERAGE SUPERVISOR SALARY

» The average salary level of a person in charge of a public relations unit

in Australian universities is $160,000 and 66.7 percent are satisfied

with their salary level. Comments are noted that the public relations

role has shifted dramatically over recent years from a promotion and

publicity function to a strategic communication purpose. It was

suggested that similar university positions show that public relations

carries a salary level at the lower end of the executive scale.

As outcomes-based measures of communication have not been developed, even the

most supportive senior executives will not see the demonstrated value that

communications brings to the implementation strategy and will not recognise the

critical role they must play in that effort (Argenti, 2005).

D) REPORTING LINES

» Even though 67 percent of survey participants are happy with their

current direct reporting lines, 88 percent believe it is important for

their organisational unit to report directly to the Vice-Chancellor. 33.3

percent of public relations supervisors have unlimited access to their

Vice-Chancellors, 33.33 percent on a weekly basis and 33.3 percent

meet with their Vice-Chancellors as required. The main reasons for

meeting with the Vice-Chancellor were to discuss media activities,

university reputation, strategic communication planning and

developing key messages.

195 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Graph 47: Contact with Vice-Chancellor (Frequency of mention)

E) EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

» 88.9 percent of leaders in Australian university public relations offices

have tertiary qualifications and from these 33.3 percent have

postgraduate qualifications. Similarly 88.9 percent of staff working in

their units has tertiary qualifications and a total of 44.4 percent have

postgraduate qualifications.

F) WORK EXPERIENCE

» The heads of offices have an average of 16 years working in the public

relations profession, and 44 percent have less than five years working in

the higher education sector.

G) JOB SATISFACTION

» It is a concern that 33.3 percent of supervisors in Australian university

public relations offices are unsatisfied with their roles. A direct

correlation may be assumed from looking at responses for the funded

budget for public relations activities – 33.3 percent are very unsatisfied

with budget allocation. 44.44 percent of respondents stated a decrease

in funding this year. The graph below shows that directors who are

unsatisfied in their roles are also unsatisfied with their office budgets.

Main reasons for directors to meet with Vice-Chancellor

Work Directly involved withVice-Chancellor

Conduit of corporateinformation

Credibility, recognition andimportance of officeresponsibilities

Management of University'sreputation

Unit accurately reflectsstrategic objectives

196 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Graph 48: Job satisfaction comparison with public relations budget allocation

H) PUBLIC RELATIONS BUDGET ALLOCATIONS

» The average public relations budget allocation for Australian universities

is $280,700. Variances were between 11.11 percent of respondents

with less than $50,000 and 33.33 percent over $500,000.

Graph 49: Public relations budget allocations for Australian universities

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Job Satisfaction Office Budget Funding decrease thisyear

Job satisfaction comparision with PR budget allocation

Satisfied

Unsatisfied

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Less than $50,000 $70,000 - $89,000 $160,000 -$179,000

$180,000 -$199,000

$500,000+

Average PR budget allocation for Aust universities

197 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

I) BEST EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

» The best outcomes were achieved with external stakeholders through

print media, with face-to-face meetings, television and radio, rated at

77.7 percent.

J) BEST INTERNAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

» Internal communication recorded staff forums as being the best channel

for staff information, with the website, staff newsletter, divisional

meetings and personal visits equally rated as the second best channel.

Interestingly, email was not the preferred communication channel for

staff.

K) PUBLIC RELATIONS STAFFING

» On average public relations units employ nine staff members, with all

responsible for feature-writing, issues and crisis management, strategic

advice to Council and Senior Executive, external communication, and

media liaison and monitoring. 88.9 percent have responsibilities for

internal communication and social media monitoring; 66.7 percent for

event organisation and speech writing; and 22 percent for qualitative

research of stakeholders. Most time was spent on strategic

communication initiatives, followed closely by media liaison. Least time

was spent on marketing and government relations activities.

5.5 SURVEY ANALYSIS – SECTION TWO

Section two of the research findings reveals the importance of the public relations

function, specifically strategic communication, to the overall objectives of the

university. Questions were designed to deliver further understanding of the

directors’ roles and the influence they have on decision-making when considering

stakeholder issues. It was significant to learn that measuring the value of

communication returned as the biggest obstacle to proving the significance of

strategic communication and, more importantly, the profession. An analysis of the

data collected for each survey question in Section Two is outlined below.

198 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

A) THE VALUE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION

» Strategic communication is valued by senior management in 88.89

percent of responses. Comments indicate that we have come a long

way, but still have further to go as it is increasingly difficult to embed the

strategic communication needs within the everyday workplace. In many

instances the role of communication is only offered value when there is

an issue or a crisis that needs to be deflected, or when senior

management wish to increase their profile. The everyday activities of

the office are seen to play more of a promotion and publicity role in

many minds, and educating management to the value of strategic

communication is one of the challenges facing public relations.

It has been suggested that the most enduring companies are those that focus on the

long-term communication strategy, have a strong set of values and are proactive

rather than reactive in communicating (Collins and Porras 1997). Just as companies

have long-term marketing and budgeting plans for their organisation as a whole,

they also must have a master communication strategy (Collins and Porras 1997).

B) COMMITTEE INVOLVEMENT

» In 66.67 percent of instances, the public relations heads of office are

included on the university’s high-level decision-making committees.

Comments demonstrate the importance of having first-hand knowledge

and involvement in the higher-level management decisions and

discussion of the University. Filtered information detracts from the

effectiveness and professionalism that the office can provide.

Membership would not be as one of the senior executive who have

responsibility for the operational decisions on behalf of the university.

However, a public relations presence should be valued for the best way

to communicate the decisions and for the value of strategic output.

All too often, the strategic communications function is a dumping ground for tactical

managers who are uncomfortable with the lack of quantitative skills needed for

success in other functions. Effective communications professionals are those who

speak the same language as senior executives and have a deep understanding of the

business and its strategy (MIT Sloan Management Review 2005).

Companies that continue to take a relaxed approach to communication will find it

increasingly difficult to compete. Although there will be a continuing need for

199 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

tactical execution, the addition of an integrated, strategic focus will be critical to

success. For communications professionals, this imperative will not be a threat but

an opportunity to not only get a seat at the table, but to stay there (MIT Sloan

Management Review 2005).

C) CRISIS MANAGEMENT ADVICE

» Public relations offices are contacted for advice only after an issue has

escalated in 77.78 percent of cases. Often reactive media is the only

option but educating senior executive of the benefits of engaging

strategic communication advice early is becoming increasingly important

to the university’s reputation:- it’s a matter of education.

D) MAIN PURPOSE OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE

» Public relations supervisors in 88.89 percent of responses believe that the

main purpose of their activities is to help define the business environment,

affecting awareness levels, attitudes and behaviour of stakeholders.

200 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Graph 50: Improving the value of strategic communication

E) PUBLIC RELATIONS VALUE TO UNIVERSITIES

» Directors and managers believe the value and practice of public relations is most important to universities for reputation,

and educating management, staff and the public. Measuring the value of communication is mentioned as the biggest

obstacle to proving the significance of strategic communication and, more importantly, the profession. Graph 50 shows

frequency of mention.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Educating workforce about strategiccommunication - not journalism

Additional resources required for pro-active approach

Media relations is more easily tested -need measurement/impact for

strategic communication

Reputational awareness a prioritythrough strategic communication

activities

How can we prove the value of strategic commnunication - frequency of comments

201

5.6 SURVEY ANALYSIS – SECTION THREE

Section three of the research findings conveys the significance of measuring

communication activities. Results reveal current public relations measurement

tools, stakeholder research methods, challenges to the profession and ways in

which we can improve current practice. An analysis of the data collected for

each survey question in Section Three is outlined below.

A) MEASURING PUBLIC RELATIONS

» Collection data for this survey expressed that evidence-based

measures to public relations objectives within Australian universities

was important in proving credibility for the overall organisational

structure. Effective measurement would assist in achieving budgetary

support and management best practice outcomes.

Graph 51: Importance of measuring the value of public relations objectives

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1

How important is it to measure and provide evidence to the value of PR objectives?

Very Important

Important

Somewhat Important

Unimportant

Waste of Time

202 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

B) CURRENT MEASUREMENT PRACTICES

» Current practices used in Australian universities to measure public

relations impact are sectioned by 87.5 percent using media and

tracking analysis; 62.5 percent measure stakeholder attitudes; and 37.5

percent use advertising equivalencies.

C) UNDERSTANDING REPUTATIONAL ISSUES

» Public relations directors are aware of their university’s reputational

issues through 77.78 percent word of mouth; 66.67 percent through

qualitative research (focus groups); and 22.22 percent through

interviews.

D) PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANCY

» 66.67 percent of public relations directors have utilised the services of

consultants for crisis management; drafting communication plans;

high-level expert advice of a confidential nature; and to advance media

coverage and public profile in specialist geographic areas.

E) PEER SUPPORT

» There was strong espousal to suggestion that a public relations

networking group be formed within the Australian university sector

(88.89 percent) to discuss similar issues, case studies, corporate issues

and reputational impacts, common issues and peer support.

F) CHALLENGES FOR THE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSION

» The greatest challenge to the public relations profession in the

Australian university sector was identified as being able to

demonstrate a clear return-on-investment measurement, thereby

proving the value of public relations. 33.33 percent noted the

importance of upholding credibility where the lines between public

relations, advertising and journalism are growing increasingly vague.

203 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

G) HOW WE CAN IMPROVE?

» For Australian universities to improve the value of public relations,

respondents reported it was most important to develop a

measurement tool to show the effectiveness of public relations

activities.

Graph 52: How can we improve the value of public relations

5.7 SUMMARY

In section one it was shown that there is an acknowledgment and acceptance

amongst the Vice-Chancellors of Australian universities to separating the functions

of communication and marketing professionals. It appears there is a growing

appreciation of how public relations has changed over the years from a promotional

and publicity function to one which is able to provide strategic benefit to the overall

business objectives of a university but respondents identified there is still much

room for improvement.

How can we improve the value of public relations?

Align business strategies withcommunication strategies

Ensure PR is closely alignedwith decision makers

Develop PR network withinAust unis

Measurement tool to showeffectiveness

Aligning key messages acrossunis

204 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Most respondents indicated the importance for their organisational unit to report

directly to the Vice-Chancellor as information, functionality and effectiveness is

restricted when reporting line managers have limited understanding of the strategic

communication role. Membership on the university’s high-level decision-making

committees should not be as one of the senior executive who has responsibility for

the operational decisions on behalf of the university, but it was reported that public

relations presence on these committees should be valued as the best way to

communicate the committee decisions and for the value of strategic outcomes.

It is a concern that a third of communication directors reported being unsatisfied

with their roles. A direct correlation can be assumed from looking at responses for

the funded budget for public relations activities – a third of respondents reported

being very unsatisfied with budget allocation. Variances of budget allocations range

from less than $50,000 through to a third of respondents receiving more than

$500,000.

The survey shows that the best outcomes for external communication were

achieved through print media, face-to-face meetings, television and radio, and the

best outcomes for internal communication were achieved through staff forums, the

website, newsletters and personal visits.

In section two of the survey, it was shown that strategic communication is valued by

senior management, but it is questioned what the definition of strategic

communication means to all respondents. Educating leaders about the value of

strategic communication was said to be one of the challenges facing public relations

professionals.

Most respondents believed that the main purpose of their activities was to help

define the business environment, affecting awareness levels, attitudes and

behaviours of stakeholders. With the knowledge of evidence-based research, an

understanding was formed of the roles, responsibilities and issues facing the

corporate communication offices in a sampling of Australian universities.

205 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Section three of the survey questioned the significance of measuring

communication activities.

It was expressed by 90 percent of respondents that evidence-based measures to

public relations objectives was important to proving credibility in the overall

university organisational structure. It was proposed that an effective measurement

tool would assist in achieving budgetary support, and for management to attain

best practice outcomes. It was shown that the most used communication

measurements were media tracking analysis, stakeholder attitudes and advertising

equivalencies.

It was indicated that respondents were mainly aware of their university’s

reputational issues through word-of-mouth. Qualitative stakeholder research (focus

groups) was conducted in just over half of the universities sampled.

It was shown that the greatest challenge to the public relations profession in the

Australian university sector was being able to demonstrate a clear return-on-

investment measurement, thereby proving the value of public relations. For

Australian universities to improve the value of public relations, respondents advised

it was most important to develop a measurement tool to show the effectiveness of

public relations activities.

The following chapter will deliver an overview of the System. A discussion, drawing

together the research questions with the findings of this research and existing

knowledge, will be provided prior to outlining the research limitations, conclusion

and recommendations.

206 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

CHAPTER SIX: THE SYSTEM OVERVIEW, LIMITATIONS, DISCUSSION,

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

6.1 THE SYSTEM OVERVIEW AND LIMITATIONS

A communication gap in an organisation may suggest that the goals and objectives

that are set by management are either not communicated to stakeholders or if

communicated they have not been understood properly. Communication gaps

result in confusion amongst stakeholders, unclear motives, misaligned priorities and

indecisive actions. Understanding stakeholder perceptions and then developing

strategic communication actions to respond to issues results in corrective steps to

rectify problems. The dilemma is how to measure the value of planned strategic

communication initiatives to close the communication gap between an organisation

and its stakeholders.

As outcomes-based measures of communication develop, even the most reluctant

senior executives will see the demonstrated value that communications brings to

the implementation of strategy and will recognise the critical role they must play in

that effort.

The problem addressed in this study is to understand how a communication

measurement model may deliver a quantitative performance indicator which

enables senior university executives to place a value on reputation management

through using an issues management tool to highlight stakeholder perceptions.

The System was piloted and trialled during and following the USQ stakeholder

research conducted in 2009. It delivered the achievable outcomes required by

providing the Vice-Chancellor with a one page report that highlighted areas of

importance, where priority focus was needed and what actions were attributed to

each stakeholder issue. Periodic reports were produced which showed

measureable improvement after employing actions in response to stakeholder

issues. The System met with favourable comments from the former Vice-Chancellor

and Chancellor. Trialling the System in Australian universities was not possible

because of ‘Trade Secret’ restrictions and intellectual property constraints. This is

noted as a limitation to the study.

207 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Any future development, expansion, enhancement and modification of the system

is dependent on individual university communication practitioners engaging at the

technical level in typically journalistic activities, or at higher senior leadership

functions whereby they might influence decision making choices in relation to the

reputational needs of their university.

This research set out as its perimeters the discovery of current communication

practices among a sampling of Australian universities; the responsibilities and

related issues of communication offices; the communication measurement tools

utilised and if reputation measurement was needed in the sector; and how a

communication measurement system may offer a solution to some of these

dilemmas.

Findings from this study identified the value that public relations brought to the

overall business initiatives undertaken by universities, the practical concerns facing

communication directors, and how public relations professionals currently

measured the impact of their work.

Through this investigation, the thesis determined how the System as developed

contributes new knowledge and assists in the resolution of issues by measuring the

value of strategic communication. This research evidences that Australian

universities engage with their stakeholders to increase or uphold reputation, but

there is no common measurement tool to show the value of strategic

communication initiatives in responding to stakeholder perceptions. The System

incorporates a risk measurement scale and this research indicates that the

measureable component of the System is an effective way to assess and quantify

stakeholder issues in a format that enables senior executive to show value for

money when applying strategic communication initiatives.

The System produces a one-page report for senior executives that shows a

university’s emerging issues amongst their stakeholder groups and what is urgent in

order to prioritise actions in response to stakeholder perceptions. The risk matrix

not only provides universities with a tool to identify issues of stakeholder concern

but also distinguishes areas of opportunities for universities to purposefully engage

208 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

with their stakeholders. The risk scale delivers a platform measurement of

stakeholder perceptions prior to communication action and updates the level of risk

and priority once communication action has been implemented.

The following screen shots display an overview of the System. Each illustration is

supported by a detailed explanation and the demonstration begins with the back-

end communication professional’s view of the database. The back-end pages are

the working document for the operational administrator. It is necessary to include

these scaffolding pages to show how the one page report for senior executives is

produced.

As the System was piloted by USQ during the course of this study, information

displayed in the screen shots contains confidential information. Some slides have

been purposely blurred to protect the responses obtained through USQ qualitative

research.

The first slide, Figure 21, depicts the back-end working view of the System. This

page will only be seen by the communication professional, but it is important to

present the mechanisms behind the System to give the reader an understanding of

how the individual scaffolding screens operate to produce the one-page

measureable report for senior executives.

Without the opportunity to demonstrate the System in practical terms, the

information displayed in Figure 21 has been divided into five sections. Following a

detailed explanation of each section, a visual presentation via a vimeo link is

provided. This will allow the reader to more easily understand areas in the holistic

screen shot below.

209 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Figure 21: Slide One, the System – operational back-end user view

Section 1a

Section 1b

Section 1c

Section 1d

Section 1e

The System – operational back-end user view

210 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

6.1.1 MAJOR STAKEHOLDER CATEGORIES – SLIDE 1A

Figure 22: Section 1a

As previously mentioned, to capture perceptions held by USQ’s key stakeholder

groups, a qualitative stakeholder research program was undertaken to guide the

development of the University’s overarching internal and external communication

strategies. Slide 1a above shows the list of stakeholder categories - Fraser Coast

Campus, Springfield Campus, Tertiary Sector, Toowoomba Campus and University.

Under each of the major stakeholder categories, key groups were identified and the

System segments the layers with a drop down box individualising the various

stakeholders’ groups, with B indicating the base stakeholder groups for the

Toowoomba campus.

In this sample database, there are five different areas of risk focus. Creating a new

database is very similar to creating a new file in any Microsoft Office product. For

example, the University of Southern Queensland has four campuses and there will

be different stakeholder issues for each campus. There could be a new database

set up for each campus. Under each of these folders, various stakeholder groups

Section 1a

211 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

can be added, so sub-categories can be created under each database heading. A

tree effect has been created – University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba

Campus, then stakeholder groups can be added. This database structure is created

using location, but a database can also be created under specific functions

performed, USQ departments/sections or projects. The structure could look

something like this.

6.1.2 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1B OF SLIDE ONE

Figure 23: Section 1b

Opening an existing database simply entails clicking on the name within the area of

existing data sources. The profile section of Section 1b, Figure 23 above, outlines

the stakeholder group under the main category of Toowoomba Campus. The

database will be displayed on the desktop with an icon. Double clicking on the icon

will bring up the user information. This database has been created with sub-

categories; allowing any stakeholder risks that might come from qualitative

research to be added.

A “Notes” field appears and in this area of the System, the administrator can include

notes relative to the various respondents who were approached and participated in

the research. Information is automatically generated from the original data

inputted in section 1a, so there is no need for duplication in the entering of data.

The objective to include this section into the System was mainly for historical data,

so future follow-up research to benchmark improvements or risks of stakeholder

perceptions could be located easily. The focus group outline of questions asked of

Section 1b

212 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

the various stakeholder groups can be inputted and re-visited for future research,

thus providing a further benchmark for improvement.

6.1.3 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1C OF SLIDE ONE

Figure 24: Section 1c

The Profile Risks shown in Section 1c have been purposely blurred. This section

outlines stakeholder perceptions gained from information received during focus

group qualitative research.

The initial aspect of strategic communication is one that is relatively easy to identify

– what is the focus of the stakeholder research. Once context has been established,

and qualitative research conducted, the subsequent progression is to identify any

risks and what consequences may result should these risks occur. One singular

identified risk may have many significances with varying degrees of severity

requiring an array of communication controls to be implemented to help prevent

the identified risk from occurring (preventative controls) or to lessen the impact

should the event occur (corrective controls). Active controls that are inherent in the

system may need to be added to mitigate the risks as part of any assessment

practices. This will provide corrective action to fix the problem or preventative

action to limit or stop the issue from occurring.

The next stage is to assess the risk of each stakeholder identified issue via a

knowledge base of current practice, existing controls and recommended future

communication actions.

Section 1c

213 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Assessing the risks and consequences of each stakeholder issue is where the System

highlights issues requiring immediate attention. The System has two areas for risk

assessment - the inherent likelihood and inherent consequence. Initially these are

subjectively determined by the communication professional as a starting point but

which are later more accurately recorded via the System’s investigative properties.

Each field is accompanied by a drop down box with tab keys for the user to select.

The consequent result of inputting this data is automatically calculated in the

System.

There are two different types of controls; preventative controls to lower the

likelihood of the risk occurring and corrective controls to mitigate the severity of

the impact should the risk occur. The level of risk will have dropped only if the

controls are effective or as effective as possible. In the System, this residual

calculation is actually done for the user, but it is good to understand the basic risk

management methodology.

The preventative control is inputted when knowing what the organisation or

university is already currently doing to prevent the risk from happening. It may be

that stakeholders are unaware of what the university is already doing as a

preventative measure - thus an information gap is shown. It may also be that the

university is unaware of any stakeholder concern and therefore actions need to be

identified in response to the inherent risk. Communication controls are entered

into the System to inform stakeholders of what actions are needed.

The next area of the System determines the measureable gap between identifying

the stakeholder concern without controls, and then inputting the communication

actions in response to the issue to re-evaluate the measureable risk. A “Select

Parent” box appears. “Parent” is a programming term indicating the hierarchy. In

this instance, the Control will be the “Child”. Each action is assigned to a user (or

guest) to ensure this control is in place and working effectively. This field type is a

keyword list which means many names can be added for the User to select from.

Once the User assesses the controls, the System will then calculate the residual risk

214 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

rating for each stakeholder issue. The Residual rating is the rating of the risk with

controls attached.

The System automatically calculates the residual values. The Inherent rating that

may have been High moves progressively to Low as more mitigating controls are

added. Should the controls be less than effective, the risk will remain high.

Using the industry accepted and standard AS/NZA 4360 Risk Assessment criteria,

the communication professional will determine how likely the risk is to occur, the

severity of the impact if the risk occurred and what existing controls exist to prevent

the risk or lessen its impact. How the communication professional responds to and

influences the likelihood and consequence of impact is determined by the System

using sophisticated analytics and diagnostic tools that is out of scope to this study.

This basic understanding of strategic communication and the associated risks of

stakeholder issues can be done within a communication template but to manage

risks effectively, the System software tool will help store and assess data. It is best

described as a three dimensional software program:-

The front end where the Database Window is positioned – this is where the

data is entered and all assessing and reporting is done

The back end – all assessment calculations are done in the background out

of sight of the User

The Knowledgebase – where the data is stored logically, to be used again.

The System is Windows based, so if the User already works with Microsoft Office

products, uses Windows Explorer or Outlook, it will be instantly familiar.

The Database Window – here the main menu is where most of the work is done.

The organisation’s structure is built here. Risks, consequences and controls are

added to the structure and the assessments and all other relevant data are all

completed in this area.

For example, if a stakeholder states that a university doesn’t have enough practical

component in its courses, the communication professional has to make a subjective

215 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

evaluation on the risk of this issue by entering the likelihood and the impact. This is

done by considering the consequences to the university, as in this example it may

decrease graduate employability if stakeholders believe this to be true. Assessing

an action in response to this perception may include communicating by feature

stories showing university nursing students working in hospitals during their course

or education students teaching in classrooms as part of their studies. Once a

communication action is applied to an issue, the likelihood and therefore the

consequences to the university are lessened. It is worth repeating that reputation

itself cannot be strictly-speaking ‘managed’ because it is determined by the

stakeholder. Whether a stakeholder perception is founded on facts is irrelevant, it

shows a gap in understanding between the university and its stakeholders, and this

can be improved through the university strategically communicating its messages

more clearly.

6.1.4 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1D OF SLIDE ONE

Figure 25: Section 1d

The profile consequences shown in Section 1d, Figure 25 above, have been

purposely blurred. For the impact of stakeholder perceptions to be understood, a

list of consequences need to be examined. This area of the System stores possible

outcomes of a perception if no communication action is activated.

Reverting back to the previous example of a stakeholder believing that the

university does not have enough practical component in their courses, the

consequences of this belief could deter graduate employers, which would impact on

students wanting to enrol in university. The consequences of this perception

Section 1d

216 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

gaining credence in the community could be reputationally-damaging, which would

impact the university financially.

Outlining the consequences of perceived issues is important in the subjective

evaluation of likelihood and impact. Understanding the consequences places the

communication professional in a position to more accurately draw conclusions,

which the System automatically updates using the risk measurement scale.

6.1.5 EXPLANATION OF SECTION 1E OF SLIDE ONE

Figure 26: Section 1e

The profile controls shown in Section 1e, Figure 26 above, have been purposely

blurred. Communication action descriptions are inputted into the System after

determining the risk or opportunities of stakeholder perceptions. The administrator

identifies the university personnel responsible for actioning an issue and a review

date is linked to the issue.

Again, reverting to the previous example used in this section about the lack of

practical components in university courses, a strategic communication action may

be given to the Director of Corporate Communication to produce feature articles for

media placement, quoting nursing students and hospital administrators who benefit

from practicum placements during their studies. The review date identified against

this action is automatically filed in the System and a reminder is sent to the

communication professional and the Director of Corporate Communication through

Microsoft Outlook. If approved by the communication professional, the status is

updated through the Microsoft Outlook form and automatically updated in the

System without duplication of data entry.

Section 1e

217 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The next slide shows the Microsoft outlook form which is the front-end user screen.

This form is automatically generated through information recorded in the back-end

data.

218 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

6.1.6 THE SYSTEM – FRONT-END FORM VIEW

Figure 27: The System – front-end form view

The System – front-end form view

219 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The System is compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook. From the data

inputted into the back-end user area of the System, a form can be instantly

generated about a particular issue, sent via email for an action update, and

returned to the communication professional. Information once approved is

automatically updated in the System – without the need for further data entry.

Documents such as Annual Reports and Strategic Plans can be stored in the System

via hyperlinks. Focus group structures, their feedback and responses can be typed

or copied directly into the System from Microsoft Office products. Users can

generate and send emails directly from within the System, via Microsoft Outlook.

Any (guest) user who receives an email can access data directly in the System by

double clicking the hyperlink in the email. A link will open an instance allowing the

(guest) user to update information. Once received by the sender (author), the

information can be approved and it is automatically updated in the System.

The front-end form view is what the responsible officer for actioning a stakeholder-

perceived issue sees via Microsoft outlook. It shows the stakeholder category, the

stakeholder group within the category, the strategy summary and the issue raised

by the University’s stakeholder.

For the responsible action officer, three drop-down action tool bars are supplied for

ease of use. The three drop-down tool boxes contain many identified

communication action tools such as – meetings, events, key message control,

media, staff forum, publications, etc. There is also a measuring scale that indicates

the issue priority. Once the responsible actioner inputs the data and, if necessary,

an updated review date, this scale automatically changes to indicate actual priority.

The back-end System is automatically updated with this information once returned

and accepted by the communication professional.

The next slide shows the report generated from the System for the University

Senior Executives.

220 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

6.1.7 THE SYSTEM – VICE-CHANCELLOR ONE PAGE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION REPORT

7.

Figure 28: The System – the one page strategic communication report

The System – The One Page Strategic Communication Report

221 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The System provides a variety of reports for Users to view data. These reports are

designed to give the User the ability to quickly and easily generate reports needed

to convey information to different sources. The System provides profile reports,

bar graphs, spread reports, comparative reports, as well as reports that will view

both qualitative and quantitative assessments: in fact just about all report types a

User should need are available in the System. Reports are generated through

information stored in each database, without having to duplicate the inputting of

data. Reports can be printed in A3 or A4 document sizes.

The System also allows searches to be conducted for multiple text across the

databases. This is useful to determine if one stakeholder group identifies similar

issues to other stakeholder groups. Actions to similar issues may already have been

identified and completed for another stakeholder group and this can then be found

and utilised to gauge the success of repeating the solution.

This slide (Figure 28) has been purposely blurred to protect confidential

information. The screen print shown is an example of one report that can be

generated.

This report shows the stakeholder-raised issue, the likelihood of the issue escalating

and the impact on the university if this eventuated. The System provides a priority

level, and then, when a communication action is undertaken, it shows how the

stakeholder-raised issue is re-evaluated by the System to show a measurable value

of the communication action.

These reports provide senior management with knowledge of priority areas from

emerging stakeholder issues. Reputational risk is an expectation of management

through stakeholder engagement and the System provides an accountable report

for the work universities are undertaking to protect interests in the emerging world

of instant communication.

6.2 SUMMARY OF THE ANALYTIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

This study undertook a comprehensive audit of the structures, behaviours,

responsibilities, issues and more importantly, how communication directors

222 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

measure the value of their work in a sampling of Australian university public

relations offices. It was found that public relations has matured over recent years

from practising propaganda to engaging and listening to stakeholder perceptions to

influence decision-making. Australian universities have come a long way but there

is still room for improvement. Strategic communication is practised more often in

Australian universities where the departments of public relations and marketing are

separated. The blurring of these two professions has manifested with the more

deregulated, competitive and discerning higher education market. These changes

are, in turn, associated with a major shift in the functioning of universities. Unlike

areas such as marketing where effectiveness can be measured by showing higher

student applications and enrolments, the field of public relations is unable to

demonstrate the value for investment when delivering the initiatives of strategic

communication. As revealed in this study, measurement is the single most

important challenge facing Australian university public relations departments.

While it has been demonstrated there is a need to show value for public relations

initiatives, I disagree with the perceived general consensus that all university

functions should be performed for wealth creation. Universities have become

increasingly distracted by economic imperatives, markets, and auditing, thereby

diminishing their capacity to promote a just and sustainable society and

environment (Postle & Garlick 2014). Boyer’s view of the university connotes an

ethical perspective – their actions, as publicly-funded institutions, must contribute

to the public good rather than to individual or institutional benefit (Boyer 1996).

This study supports the views of Marginson and Considine who describe these

trends in terms of the development of ‘enterprise universities’:

All Australian universities are now enterprise universities. The enterprise

university joins a mixed public-private economy to a quasi-business culture

and to academic traditions partly reconstituted, partly republican, and partly

broken. This is not so much a genuine private business culture as a public

sector variant in which certain conditions and techniques of business (such

as competition, scarcity, marketing, goals defined in money terms) have

223 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

been grafted on to existing bureaucracies now opened up to external

pressures …. In their political economy, enterprise universities sit

somewhere between the public academic institutions they were and the

private companies that some imagine them to be already (Marginson &

Considine 2008 p. 28).

The System shows the value of strategically communicating with key stakeholders

but it does not demonstrate wealth creation in monetary terms. The benefit of

using the System to engage with staff and external audiences provides knowledge

and understanding to maximise a university’s reputation and to minimise risks. The

value of the System measurement is in showing the gap between knowing

stakeholder perceptions and doing nothing, versus knowing stakeholder

perceptions and engaging to form powerful partnerships with universal values.

In summary, the System:

assesses the likelihood of the stakeholder perception;

shows the severity of the outcome prior to communication action;

then determines an action and input this data into the program, with an

automated update of risk provided.

This measureable scale highlights priorities for management and delivers a scientific

measure to strategic communication initiatives which addresses stakeholder

perceptions.

It enables the communication professional to enter results of stakeholder

qualitative research and, by using the recognised risk assessment scale; a measure

shows the severity of the issue if no action is taken. See figure 28, page 242. The

likelihood and impact of stakeholder perceptions is subjective, as the user needs to

enter this into the System.

The System then automatically assesses the likelihood of the stakeholder

perception; the severity of the outcome prior to communication action; and then

determines an action and inputs this data into the program, with an automated

update of risk provided.

224 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

This measureable scale highlights priorities for management and delivers a scientific

measure to strategic communication initiatives which addresses stakeholder

perceptions.

225 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Figure 29: The System measurement scale

226

6.3 VIMEO PRESENTATION OF THE SYSTEM

A visual presentation is available by following the Vimeo presentation of the System

from the following link.

http://vimeo.com/user10756933/review/69061293/6eb04a77bc

6.4 INTERVIEW WITH KNOWRISK SENIOR CONSULTANT

To support and validate the System’s outcomes, participant observation from

interviews and discussions held with senior management of CorProfit and with Hana

Vano, KnowRisk Senior Consultant and System Developer appears in Appendix C.

227 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

6.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

There are two noteworthy limitations of this study.

Firstly, the relatively small sampling may have a potential impact on the findings,

but it was felt that the process of selecting a large random sampling for this study

was not the most effective way of developing an understanding of the complex

issues relating to communication measurement. To obtain relevant data for the

purpose of this study, it was recognised that some informants were more likely to

provide insight and understanding representative of the whole population. An

appropriate sample size for this qualitative study was one that adequately

answered the research questions and for this reason the small sampling study can

be defended. A flexible research design was applied using an iterative, cyclical

approach to sampling, data collection, analysis and interpretation. For this reason,

the findings cannot be generalised to the broader community based on this study

alone. However, the degree to which this reduces the quality of the findings for the

Australian higher education sector is a matter for debate.

I worked with nine sampling Australian universities to better understand their

operations and the value each of these universities placed on measuring

communication objectives.

A second limitation surfaced during the course of this study: it was originally

intended to pilot the System in a number of Australian universities. This empirical

analysis was not conducted due to legal restrictions placed on the System through

the examination of intellectual property ownership. Specifically, the System would

not be protected by any intellectual property rules such as copyright, patent or

trademark, trade secrets or contract if the work entered the public domain. To

explain further, the next section provides an account of how intellectual property

rules and processes affected the System pilot study to improve the System design.

6.5.1 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Expert advice pertaining to intellectual property was received during the course of

this study and as such the opportunity to trial the System in other universities was

228 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

denied. This action would have affected the protection of intellectual property as a

pilot study would place the System in the public domain. This created a second

limitation to the study as professional opinion as to the validity or success of the

System was repudiated. A future pilot will overcome this limitation once issues of

intellectual property are determined. An explanation of how the issue of

intellectual property surfaced is outlined below.

In June 2012, I co-presented at the 2nd Annual National Higher Education

Communication Officers’ Conference in Melbourne. The conference presentation,

‘Planning and Evaluation Tools for Issues Management’ defined the need to prove

or accurately measure the effectiveness of listening to stakeholder perceptions.

During the presentation, a broad outline of this doctoral research was provided and

interest in the research was expressed from 17 university conference attendees.

Participants from Hong Kong to New Zealand inquired about piloting the System.

On returning to USQ, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jan Thomas advised that this

doctoral research required examination from the Office of External Relations and

the Acting University of Southern Queensland (USQ) lawyer. As a doctoral student,

and also a professional staff employee, examination of this doctoral research was

performed before the University’s decision was made in the doctoral student’s

favour to own the intellectual property of this study. It was advised that the

copyright and intellectual property for the System belonged to the student, and as a

doctoral student the invention was safeguarded. According to the World

Intellectual Property Organisation (2006) ‘Intellectual property refers to creations of

the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and

designs used in commerce’.

Copyright is rapidly emerging as a major intellectual property challenge for all

leading industrialised economies, and the same challenges are arising in the higher

education sector. As the overarching body of Australian universities, a major area

of responsibility for Universities Australia is the monitoring of government

legislation and policies with implications for the ownership and use of copyright

materials by staff and students in universities. The Universities Australia publication

229 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

‘Ownership of Intellectual Property in Universities: Policy and Good Practice Guide’

was republished in 2002 to assist universities in developing clear policies on the

ownership of intellectual property generated by them (Universities Australia 2013).

It states, ‘A university cannot claim rights to the intellectual property created by

students who are not employed by the university unless the student assigns the

intellectual property in writing to the university’ (Universities Australia 2013).

The publication ‘Ownership of Intellectual Property in Universities: Policy and Good

Practice Guide’ was created to assist universities, but each university addresses

intellectual property uniquely, with distinctive arrangements impacting upon the

methods in which student-created intellectual property may be acquired or

regulated. The enforceability of different aspects of a university’s intellectual

property regime varies from institution to institution. To properly assess the

intellectual property rights within each institution, it is necessary to seek advice

about the university’s intellectual property policy framework and statutory regime.

It may also be necessary to peruse the latest Enterprise Bargaining Agreement

which applies to the individual, as it may also prescribe rights and obligations

pertaining to intellectual property.

According to the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), the capacity for

universities to exploit staff and student-created intellectual property is

incrementally emerging across Australian universities (NTEU Intellectual Property,

2013). For instance, the University of Technology Sydney’s Intellectual Property

Policy 2009 states that the university does not assert ownership in ‘creative or

scholarly works created or developed by a staff member while employed at the

University’ (UTS 2013). In comparison to this position, the Central Queensland

University IP Principles 2010 reserves the right of the university not to assign

ownership of scholarly books and journal articles to staff where there is a potential

or actual commercial benefit (CQU 2013).

The University of Southern Queensland Intellectual Property Policy 1996 states

that:-

230 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

… to a disclosure of Intellectual Property, the University makes no decision

by the end of a twelve (12) month period from the disclosure date or in the

case of a provisional patent from the date of filing; or decides at any time

prior to the relevant period the University does not wish to protect or

commercially exploit the reported intellectual property, then the

originator(s) is (are) free to protect or commercially exploit in any manner

they choose. Where the University approves termination of patent

protection, the intellectual property rights will be offered to the

originator(s) (University of Southern Queensland Intellectual Property

Policy 1996).

Also, in relation to intellectual property, it is interesting to look at the case study of

University of Western Australia (UWA) versus Dr Bruce Gray. The dispute arose

because Dr Gray’s research resulted in inventions with potential commercial value.

This Federal Court decision has the potential to impact directly on ownership of

intellectual property generated in universities. In April 2008, the Federal Court

found that Dr Gray's duties as an employed researcher of UWA did not include a

'duty to invent', resulting in Dr Gray owning certain inventions created in the course

of research he carried out while employed by UWA (Clayton Utz, 2010). The

general position at common law is that the employer will have no automatic rights

over the inventions of an employee without an express or implied term in the

contract of employment (Clayton Utz 2010).

The case of UWA v Gray, highlights that the legal entitlement to any particular

invention depends upon the actual conditions of employment, and in particular

upon the clarity of duties set out in contracts of employment.

It would seem that the only secure way for universities to acquire property rights

from its staff in respect of intellectual property developed in the course of their

work is by express provision in the contracts of employment. Even then, this case

demonstrates the transaction costs of administering and enforcing such provisions

and the uncertainty surrounding the scope and application raise real questions as to

their utility. I believe this education should commence at the undergraduate and

231 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

postgraduate student levels, with the inclusion of intellectual property tuition that

is tailored to particular needs of students in different disciplines.

In July 2012 I suspended my inquiries into Intellectual Property to concentrate on

furthering my research so I could better understand whether the Australian

university sector would utilise a System to measure strategic communication.

During this time it was understood that it was critical not to demonstrate, sell or

discuss the System in public, as this may have damaged any chance to protect the

interest.

USQ’s Office of Commercialisation organised a meeting with a Patent Attorney from

Fisher, Adams Kelly in April 2013. It was advised to place copyright on all

documents as patent approval is not normally given for Software inventions.

Software that is merely a procedure for solving a given type of mathematical

problem is not patentable, and similarly, mathematical algorithms and abstract

intellectual concepts on their own are not patentable. The patent attorney opined

that the System would be best protected through the Intellectual Property area

known as ‘Trade Secret’. A trade secret is both a type of intellectual property and a

strategy for protecting intellectual property.

6.6 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This doctoral thesis describes a study undertaken by the author who has significant

knowledge of and background in public relations, performing as the Associate

Director of the Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations at the

University of Southern Queensland (USQ) in Australia. This research has

contributed new knowledge to the challenging question of strategic communication

measurement and following a brief overview to restate the problem, the majority of

this chapter is devoted to the discussion and summary of the research results.

The impact on higher education from the economic, social, political and educational

changes associated with globalisation, post-Fordist development and the rise of the

information age is well documented (Drucker 1994, Limerick et al. 1998, Marginson

232 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

& Considine 2000). In business terms, however, these changes manifest in a more

deregulated, competitive and discerning higher education market, in modified

student behaviours, and in revised requirements for learning and teaching. These

changes are, in turn, associated with a major shift in the functioning of universities.

The market for university education has changed radically. Environmental factors of

high employment rates, increased demand for vocational education and training

sparked in part by a commodities boom, rising university costs for students, and an

oversupply of government-funded higher education places contributed to a

softening of demand for higher education. Universities are now compelled to take

action to address the challenges and attempt to exploit the opportunities that the

changing higher education operating environment affords - moving towards

becoming enterprise universities. However, for USQ, the enhanced business

orientation that this movement implies has to co-exist with the institution’s

continuing obligations as a regional university to engage meaningfully and

productively with its communities and to provide educational opportunities for a

diverse student constituency.

To position itself and more effectively address these competing agendas –

prospering as a sustainable, efficient, business enterprise while fulfilling its social

and community obligations - USQ undertook what was called the Realising our

Potential (RoP) initiative. This initiative was undertaken in 2007 and 2008 to

address the core challenges of tighter budgets and increased competition for

students, and one of the projects within the RoP initiative centred on re-examining

the University’s academic program portfolio.

In 2008, the number of degree programs reduced from 353 to 93, a 74 percent

reduction, and the number of courses reduced from 1592 to approximately 751, a

53 percent reduction, leaving a suite of strong and defensible programs (Lovegrove

2008). Significant rationalisation and re-profiling of academic staff was also

undertaken to match the programs on offer, although the changes were clearly

more evident in some areas of the University than in others (AUQA 2009). The aim

of achieving a ‘new level’ of quality student courses was viewed with concern by

233 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

several USQ stakeholder groups, and negative coverage in the local, state and

national media began to surface from November 2008.

At the beginning of 2009, the University’s senior executive tasked the Corporate

Communication and Public Relations Office to conduct extensive qualitative

research to understand the perceptions of stakeholders and to determine

stakeholder-specific issues that had the potential to impact stakeholders’

engagement of USQ following the RoP initiative. The research findings provided

trending data of the key issues and concerns of staff and external stakeholder

groups.

It was demonstrated to the senior committee of the University, the Vice-

Chancellor’s Committee, how USQ stakeholder groups impact on the University’s

reputation, but determining the value of implementing the internal and external

strategic communication plans to University senior executives proved difficult. The

qualitative research was questioned and an accurate measure of the effectiveness

of resourcing the execution of the plans was debated. Communication-measureable

equations to show return-on-investment did not provide the value evidence

required by the University leaders to fund the recommended communication

initiatives to address identified stakeholder issues. It was shown that media

tracking and analysis (the monitoring of a university’s coverage by the press on

various media channels such as television, cable, internet and radio [Weeks 2011])

and advertising equivalencies (the calculation of space or time used for publicity or

news content by comparing it to the cost of that same space or time if purchased as

advertising [Rawlins, 2010]), could not provide a numeric measure which satisfied

members of the Committee for the resourcing requested to apply the

communication strategies in response to stakeholder perceptions (USQ VCC 2009).

Senior university executives are accountable for their decisions when dealing with

public money but how do communication professionals provide a quantitative

measure, showing profit maximisation, when the area of expertise is defining and

responding to subjective stakeholder perceptions? The USQ RoP case study

signalled interesting opportunities and directions to investigate an appropriate

234 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

measure and value in incorporating community opinion in decision-making and

identifying future strategic directions.

As a result of this case study, I reflected on a concept of utilising a recognised risk-

management scale to measure the impact of various stakeholder perceptions of the

University. I believed this would show a measureable gap between not

incorporating stakeholder opinion in decision-making and the value of listening to

stakeholder perceptions and implementing communication initiatives to identify

with strategic directions. The gap between these two ranges, as indicated by a risk

scale, shows the value of actioning strategic communication initiatives and the risk

to the University of doing nothing. In 2010, I partnered with the Sydney risk-

management company, Cor-Profit, to guide the modification of a risk-management

system to show a quantifiable measure of strategic communication initiatives.

The future development and modification of the System is dependent on knowing

whether university communication practitioners engage in typically journalistic

activities at the technical level, or whether they have a leadership role that sits

closer to the top of the hierarchy to influence decision-making and take

responsibility for the public’s orientation toward the university. Therefore, the

problem addressed in this study was to understand if the System would benefit

university senior executives in placing a value on public relations activities.

This research set out to discover current communication practices in a sampling of

Australian universities: the responsibilities and related issues of communication

offices; the communication measurement tools utilised and if this was an issue in

the sector; and how a measurement System may offer solutions to some of these

dilemmas.

The conceptual framework, the theoretical structure of principles taken from

relevant fields of enquiry, has been used to structure this study to provide a means

of comparing communication practices and organisational performance of

Australian university communication directors with other similar enterprises

congruent with reputational demands of the workplace.

235 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Once data was collected, the online survey tool, SurveyMonkey, was employed to

analyse the findings of each of the research questions by way of a thematic

interpretation, string analysis of data and ethnographic functions. The survey tool

allowed the researcher to view a summary of the data; browse individual responses;

create and export graphs; construct filters to expose trends and compare specific

data views and segments; view and categorise open-ended responses, and to

download the results in multiple formats.

Findings of the survey identified the value of public relations to the overall business

initiatives in universities, the practical concerns facing communication directors, and

how public relations professionals currently measure the impact of their work. This

research was limited to a sample of communication supervisors from Australian

universities that employed a variance of between 1000 to over 7000 staff members.

The samples returned were marginally more male respondents (55.6 percent) than

female (44.4 percent), with an average age of 48 years. Eighty-nine percent of

communication supervisors have tertiary qualifications and of these 33.3 percent

have postgraduate qualifications. Similarly, 89 percent of staff working in their units

have tertiary qualifications with a total of 44.4 percent having postgraduate

qualifications. The heads of offices have an average of 16 years working in the

public relations profession, and 44 percent have less than five years working in the

higher education sector.

In the following section, I will provide a discussion in relation to the research

questions, the findings of the research and existing commentary and knowledge in

relation to communication strategies, alignment and measurement. On completion

of the discussion and recommendations, the conclusion will conceptualise the end

of this chapter.

The research findings are discussed in three sections – (a) Roles and responsibilities

of corporate communication offices; (b) The value of strategic communication to

overall business initiatives and how the sector can better manage reputation among

stakeholders; and (c) The necessity for a communication measurement tool in the

higher education sector.

236 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

6.6.1 SECTION ONE - ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION OFFICES

The first survey field was established to understand the current strategic

communication practices deployed by Australian universities. This was important to

know, as public relations professionals from similar enterprises have moved toward

an emphasis on building and maintaining organisations’ internal and external

relationships and on becoming skilled, active counsellors at the executive level

decision-making table. However, as mentioned previously in this study, the

definitions of public relations are debated, and this is largely due to the diversity

and accountabilities that practitioners undertake in their day-to-day work roles.

This was further evidenced in the results of this research.

It was defined through this research that Vice-Chancellors understand the

importance of public relations, but a number of sampled universities continue to

integrate the marketing and public relations areas under one department in their

organisational structure. Results from this survey show that the roles and

responsibilities of the corporate communication offices appear to be uniquely

different when these professions are incorporated into the same department.

When the marketing and public relations offices are combined, a greater emphasis

is placed on public relations media activities.

All respondents answered that they are accountable for the public relations duties

of external communication, media liaison, crisis management, feature writing and

strategic advice to council and senior executive offices but those in combined

marketing and public relations professions reported that 40 percent of their time

was spent on marketing and brand activities, 30 percent on media relations and 20

percent on event management.

237 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Graph 53: Comparing office responsibilities when public relations and marketing are combined

It is evidenced through this study that the more advanced public relations role of

strategic communication is practiced to a greater extent when the two professions

of public relations and marketing are detached.

Many people use the terms public relations and marketing interchangeably, and the

difference between the professions is not assisted when they are linked together

under a department title of ‘Marketing and Public Relations’ or ‘Marketing and

Communications’. The terms, marketing (the traditional domain of brand

management) and public relations (the traditional domain of reputation

management), are frequently confused and often used inaccurately (Armanto,

2013). One can sense from the data some growing confusion as to the future roles

of marketing and public relations in the current university climate.

Marketing deals primarily with product awareness and promotion and works to sell

a product rather than the organisation. The four P’s is one way - probably the best-

known way - of defining the marketing mix, and was first expressed in 1960 by E J

McCarthy. McCarthy states that marketers work on the four P’s: products, price,

place and promotion (McCarthy 1981). The primary focus of marketing is

advertising which makes it more direct and more aggressive than public relations.

In universities, marketing involves selling the goods where the educational

programs or products are promoted, although marketing professionals are

increasingly interested in incorporating publicity as a tool within the marketing mix

– a tool that has normally been controlled by public relations.

Ques 20:

Duties most

performed in

your office

88.9 percent -

Internal

comms, strat

advice; social

media

100 percent -

Media liaison;

crisis comms;

external

comms

Ques 20:

Duties most

performed in

your office

77.8 percent -

event

management;

publications

88.9 percent

- Media,

marketing,

brand

These responses were

received from offices with

joint responsibilities of

marketing and public relations

These responses were

received from all

Communication Offices → +

→

→

→ +

238 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Public relations professionals are concerned with university marketing practices,

questioning whether they meet the university’s social responsibility, and 33 percent

of respondents in this survey revealed that one of the greatest challenges to the

public relations industry is upholding credibility within an environment where the

lines between public relations, marketing, advertising and journalism are growing

increasingly vague. There is no prospect of repairing the reputation of public

relations, communicating the value of what we do, and delivering on that promise

until there is a clear definition that we can all stand behind. When Australian

universities combine the two professions, it is assumed that public relations is about

media coverage. The problem is that this model is how public relations has been

sold for decades. The truth is without relationships, achieving anything is difficult in

the current tertiary fiscal environment. The profession of public relations has

matured and as an industry we need to quantify the value that it delivers and until

that occurs, the public relations industry will continue to be misunderstood,

undervalued and viewed with scepticism by the only people that matter – our

stakeholders.

Graph 54: Blurring of professional boundaries

Question 49: Upholding credibility within an environment where the lines between public relations, marketing, advertising and journalism are growing increasingly vague?

33.3 percent

239 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Literature research further indicates that the traditional marketing mix approach

can prove very restrictive (Gummesson 1987) in strategy development, particularly

as it appears unsuited to the modern dynamic environment of public relations

(O’Malley and Patterson 1998).

In public relations, a university is promoted by gauging public perception, and

managing and building the university’s reputation and profile with the public

(Kulkarni 2013). In 2014, the definition of public relations as adopted by the Public

Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) is: ‘Public relations is the deliberate, planned

and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an

organisation (or individual) and its (or their) publics. It's the key to effective

communication in all sectors of business, government, academic and not-for-profit’

(PRIA 2014).

Today, public relations encompasses strategic communication, building stakeholder

engagement, stakeholder research, media, and staff relations, and is pivotal for

building and developing the right image of a university in the public domain which

itself includes printed and broadcast media and the internet. Essentially, it is one

thing to have an exciting and promising product on the market, but information

about the product must be conveyed in an appropriate manner to reach the

required audience. Brokering the right message to stakeholders is critical. Public

relations and marketing can work alongside each other, but we need to commence

by developing a common language and understanding of the two very different

roles and responsibilities of marketing and public relations.

The skills that public relations professionals held in the past have changed with the

way we now communicate, and this was evidenced with a more proactive approach

undertaken by one university recently which resulted in the allocation of additional

resources and the realignment of the public relations unit to report directly to the

Vice-Chancellor. I welcomed that 89 percent of respondents reported that the main

purpose of communication activities in their offices was centred on helping to

define the business environment, affecting awareness levels, attitudes and

behaviours of stakeholders to strengthen and protect the university’s reputation.

240 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Sha (2011) defined 12 categories of public relations work that include:

account/client management; strategic planning; public relations program planning;

project management; media relations; social media relations; stakeholder relations;

issues management; crisis management; internal relations and employee

communications; special events, conferences and meetings; and community

relations. The public relations role has shifted dramatically over recent years from a

promotion and publicity function to a strategic communication purpose and this is

supported in the direct comments given in the survey below. Comments on

question 28 (p. 189) of the survey which asked directors, ‘Which of the following

best describes the main purpose of communication activities in your office’ include:

Respondent 1

Helping to define the business environment, affecting awareness levels,

attitudes and behaviour of stakeholders SHOULD be what we do. All too

often this is subsumed by day-to-day activity. Additionally many staff in

communication roles have come from either an administrative

background (moved into role by default because they have produced an

internal department newsletter) or from a journalism background. In both

cases, an understanding of strategic communications (i.e. what is the

impact beyond sending this press release) is lacking.

Respondent 2

We have recently moved to a more pro-active approach to public

relations with additional resources allocated. We have also moved the

communications staff into a unit which indirectly reports to the Vice

Chancellor.

Mostly the communication functions of the office tend to rely on media

relations as this seems to be the more easily recognised and tested

measure of performance. However in recent years strategic

communication that impacts on the reputational awareness and activities

of the University have become a priority and the issues management

responsibilities are becoming uppermost in the minds of stakeholder

groups.

Respondent 3

While we want to be focusing more on the latter, the reality is we do

more of the former on a daily basis.

241 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

A solid public relations mindset is not enough though. In today’s world, immediacy

and transparency are two terms that should be of high importance to Vice-

Chancellors. Universities must be willing to speak up about the necessity of setting

a good example with their public relations strategy because misinformation can be

spread so easily. Having good relationships with media and stakeholders, and

knowledge of community perceptions, assists universities when dealing with crisis

situations which undoubtedly minimises reputational damage.

Australian universities need to analyse emerging issues and interpret challenges and

opportunities, internally and externally, to anticipate influences shaping the

operating environment. A weak or absent communication strategy to many ‘live’

issues makes no sense if it is divorced from the long-term strategic communication

of the university’s business.

Communication directors responding to this research believed that the

professionalism and effectiveness of the role of corporate communication offices in

Australian universities would be improved if first-hand understanding of issues was

available.

Respondent 1 Apart from the business as usual functions of the office reporting directly to the Vice-Chancellor provides increased credibility and recognition of the importance of the office and what it can bring to senior management and to the organisational structure. Reporting to the VC would provide a conduit for information of a corporate nature which could impact on issues management functions and the ability to be in touch with key decision makers across the University. In many instances corporate communications is the first port of call when an issue impacts and being removed from the power structure limits the functionality and expert advice which could be quickly provided. From a budgetary position reporting to the VC would also give priority to the everyday activities of the office and bring increased support and recognition of its functions. Respondent 2 It is my consideration that the role of the office would be substantially increased if first-hand understanding of the issues was available. These can only be provided by the Director having first-hand knowledge and involvement in the higher level management decisions and discussions of the University. To provide the office with filtered information detracts from the effectiveness and professionalism that the office can provide.

242 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Respondent 3

Closely align the strategies of the communication and public relations

offices with the broader strategies of the university. Ensure that the

communications/PR office has a direct and close line to the decision

makers of the university, including importantly, the VC's office. Strategic

communication that is valued at the Executive level is really important to

helping build the overall reputation and awareness of the university.

Respondent 4 I think the important thing is that the views of the Media/Communications team are valued and listened to. We are not members of the Executive who make the big operational decisions on behalf of the University, however we are heavily involved and regularly consulted on issues management and the best way to communicate the decisions of the University, and our strategic input is highly valued in our organisation.

Even though directors believed their strategic input was highly valued, it was

revealed in this study that this could be enhanced by having first-hand knowledge

and involvement as an observer on the higher level management committees.

Committee decisions and discussions which provide opportunities for strategic

communication activities were often missed or received through filtered

information channels. Respondents believed this detracted from the effectiveness

and professionalism that the office can provide.

It was evidenced in this study and I agree with Murray and White (2004) who

summarised that many CEOs recognised that they under-invested in public

relations, but all recognised that public relations, today, was “mission critical’. The

practice, they believed, would be more valued when public relations advice is

offered by practitioners who have the background, knowledge and standing that will

enable them to contribute to decision-making at the highest levels (Murray and

White 2004 p. 24).

Of all the areas of public relations, issues or crisis management have changed the

most fundamentally in recent years. With the advent of the digital age and the

creation of the citizen journalist, threats to a university’s reputation, whether real or

perceived, have the potential to go worldwide at a phenomenal speed. Information

243 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

is immediate and, once broadcast, irreversible. Just as dangerously, the digital era

has enabled lobby and pressure groups to put forward their grievances more

quickly, and to magnify these more significantly. When a crisis occurs, corporate

communication directors need to respond quickly and confidently to limit damage.

If handled well, a crisis can actually be an opportunity to improve a university’s

reputation if good relationships have been developed with media and trusting

stakeholders. Often what doesn’t appear in the media is more important than what

appears. Unfortunately, the directors of corporate communication advised in this

study that they are only consulted after a problem arises in 80 percent of cases.

To further understand the composition and activities of Australian university public

relations units, in-depth questions were designed to discover whether staffing levels

had any impact on the strategic communication activities of the office.

Graph 55: Higher level work performed indicative of staff education levels

It was revealed that the number of staff employed was not a determining factor

with offices strategically engaging with stakeholders. The more significant indicator

was found in the level of tertiary qualifications held by members within the office.

Data from this study shows that the higher-level strategic communication activities

are performed more often in offices that employ staff who have, or are studying for,

postgraduate qualifications.

244 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Graph 56: Level of office staff qualifications

Answer Options Response Average

Response Total

Response Count

Diploma qualification 2.00 8 4

Degree qualification 6.00 48 8

Masters qualification 1.50 3 2

Doctoral qualification 1.00 1 1

Public relations has come of age, and with that has come a critical need for broadly-

based education that is relevant and connected to the practice (PRSA 1999). A

report of the Public Relations Society of America 1999 Commission on public

relations Education states that:-

This growth, evolution and maturation of public relations is sure to

continue. Elements are in place for impressive incremental growth and

change in the next century: the spread of democratic institutions around

the world; the growing importance of communicating with internal as well

as external publics; the veritable explosion of one-to-one communication

and the technology to implement it; and the steady advance of the public

relations body of knowledge, especially analysis of public awareness and

change in attitudes and behaviour (PRSA 1999 p.1).

245 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

The future is bright for the public relations profession. Public relations professionals

have moved toward an emphasis on building and maintaining relationships and on

becoming skilled, active counsellors at the university’s decision making table. Not

only are the directors of communication and public relations offices skilled

communicators but leaders who help their university to build and maintain relations

with strategic stakeholders. Findings from this research have shown, and I agree,

that excellent public relations education will be the foundation for preparing new

professionals for this responsibility (PRSA 1999).

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that that marketing and public relations, although associated,

should not be amalgamated into one department if research and strategic

communication practices are a high accountability for the office. It is important to

articulate the differences between these two roles, as the findings indicate there is

increased importance being placed on the advice afforded to university executive by

communication directors, and this move evidences the distinctly separate roles of

public relations and marketing. It’s time once and for all that public relations and

marketing divisions separate in Australian universities to position relationships

between a university and its community and pursue a clearly-defined strategic

communication model which is based on listening to stakeholder perceptions.

6.6.2 SECTION TWO - THE VALUE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION TO OVERALL BUSINESS INITIATIVES

The second section of research questions for this study were designed to establish

whether the senior executive appreciate the value of strategic communication to

their overall business initiatives and, if so, how the sector can better manage

reputation amongst stakeholders through improved systems and efficiencies. I

wanted to learn if there was a need to measure the value and alignment of strategic

communication in Australian universities.

This study reveals that strategic communication is valued by senior university

management in 89 percent of responses, but in contrast to this data, it was

discovered that less than 25 percent of communication directors engage in

246 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

stakeholder qualitative research. A strategic communication plan is developed and

implemented through knowing stakeholder perceptions, and this can only be

accomplished through stakeholder qualitative research. Without the methodology

of knowing stakeholder perceptions, and a measureable to indicate strategic

communication results, communication is largely defined by Vice-Chancellors. This

results in incomplete communication leadership, because pro-active communication

enables a university to build the foundations for positive reputation management

during normal operations as well as during a crisis situation.

This is highly important because without a structured methodology where

communication and strategy work, we fail to develop strategic communication, we

only communicate. Strategy is the science of conceiving, activating, deciding,

planning, executing, using and guiding the media at a particular time, place and

space to achieve and/or maintain the set goals in a particular scenario (Cristian

Guerrero-Castro 2011).

Thematic interpretation of collected data shows that this disparity - between

valuing strategic communication and conducting stakeholder qualitative research -

may be a result of inadequate budget resourcing. The average salary level of a

public relations director in Australian universities is $160,000, and 66.7 percent are

satisfied with their salary level. It was suggested that public relations carries a

salary level at the lower end of the executive scale compared to similar university

positions. It is a concern though that 33.3 percent of directors are unsatisfied with

their roles. A correlation may be assumed from looking at responses for the funded

budget for public relations activities: 33.3 percent are very unsatisfied with budget

allocation with 45 percent of respondents stating a decrease in funding this year. It

is suggested from this data that stakeholder qualitative research is only undertaken

in 25 percent of the sampling due to limited office budgets.

It is interesting to note several comments from the sample:

Respondent 1

It is a constant battle to put forward requests for funding – because in many

instances the University receives positive media coverage which is provided

247 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

free of charge, so unfortunately senior management see no need to fund the

everyday activities of the office. Consequently external communication plans

and internal communication programs largely go neither funded nor

supported, although there is a management desire for these to be a priority

for the office.

Respondent 2

It's a constant battle to do what we need to do with what we're allocated.

The focus is on simply trying to maintain activities, rather than trying to keep

trying for best practice.

Respondent 3

The non-support for the office is of a major concern to the extent that it is

impacting significantly on the effectiveness and morale of staff.

Respondent 4

It is often quite hard (particularly within our limited budgets) to really

provide management with an accurate analysis of our value as PR/media

professionals, and to measure the value that our work brings to the

University in terms of reputation building and awareness.

Respondent 5

It is so hard to quantify the value of public relations and often our value is

underestimated.

Respondent 6

As funding becomes an increasing challenge, it grows ever harder to prove

our value to the business and the industry.

The most enduring companies are those that focus on the long-term communication

strategy, have a strong set of values and are proactive rather than reactive in

communicating (Collins and Porras 1997). Through data collected in this study, I

agree with Argenti, Howell and Beck (2005), and with Pace and Faules (1989), and

further claim that for university leaders to be effective within their institutions and

communities, communication methodology must contain four dimensions -

strategic, operational, tactical and measureable.

248 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

RECOMMENDATION

Just as companies have long-term marketing and budgeting plans for their

organisation as a whole, they also must have a master communication strategy

(Collins & Porras 1997). Argenti, Howell and Beck state, ‘Companies that continue

to take a tactical, short-term approach to communicating with key constituencies

will find it increasingly difficult to compete. Developing an integrated, strategic

approach to communications will be critical to success. As Pace and Faules (1989)

imply, ‘leadership and communication are intimately intertwined’.

6.6.3 SECTION THREE – NECESSITY OF AN ANALYTIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

The final research question for this study was to determine whether there was a

need for a communication measurement tool in the higher education sector.

From all forms of this research inquiry, it appears the need to place a value on

public relations activities has been there for a long time. As the world has suffered

in economic turmoil, more prominence has been paid to government funding of

universities large and small. The value of everything has been under scrutiny and so

now, more than ever the importance of attributing a proper value on public

relations seems essential. Public relations is not about column metrics, it – like

anything else – is about showing value for money.

My survey findings show there is a need to measure and analyse data in a range of

areas such as stakeholder engagement and evidencing the impact that a strategic

communications campaign has on a university. The fact that marketing

departments are able to produce a quantitative measure to show results (through

student applications, student enrolments, the number of dollars produced through

enrolment, completion rates and graduation figures) and the fact that public

relations activities are relative and not simply absolute in nature, may signify a

reason for disparity when choices are made for funding allocations and the

distribution of resources. This study shows that while the position of corporate

communication director provided a high level of satisfaction, having to work and

produce high-level outcomes with little or no budgetary support, does not provide

249 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

for job satisfaction or high levels of staff morale. Salary ranges were at the lower

end of the executive scale, and many were dissatisfied with the level of budgetary

support and overall recognition given to the office. It may be assumed that

expenditure on public relations activities must demonstrate a measureable return

on investment.

Graph 57: Effective measurement rated most important issue

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Very important 88.9 percent 8

Somewhat important 11.1 percent 1

Unimportant 0.0 percent 0

Waste of time 0.0 percent 0

Why (please specify) 4 4

The research findings further determined that corporate communication directors

rated our ability to demonstrate a clear return-on-investment (ROI), thereby proving

the value of public relations as the greatest single challenge facing the practice of

public relations in Australian universities.

250 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Graph 58: Demonstrating value rated the greatest single challenge

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Upholding credibility within an environment where the lines between public relations, advertising and journalism are growing increasingly vague?

33.3 percent 3

Universalising our ability to demonstrate a clear Return-on-PR-Investment measurement, thereby proving the value of public relations?

77.8 percent 7

Maintaining a high ethical standard in light of questionable business tactics?

0.0 percent 0

Providing a proper and thorough educational system for preparing the new generation of public relations professionals on a level which is consistent with the legal and medical professions?

0.0 percent 0

251 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

My data supports the view of Kevin Wale, Chairman and Managing Director of

Vauxhall who says, ‘Relative to marketing expenditure, public relations finds it

tougher to get a fair share of money. Better measurement would make it easier for

resource allocation’ (Wale’, 2004 p.6). To explain Wale’s view: the goal of

marketing is sales, so the success of their efforts can be measured in profits; the

goal of public relations is to build positive impressions of the university, so public

perception is the measurement tool in public relations.

In a report summarising a series of interviews, conducted in mid-2004, with 14 chief

executive officers and chairmen from major United Kingdom and international

organisations, Kevin Murray and Jon White from Chime Communications (claimed

to be Britain’s leading independent communication company) sought to determine

CEO perspectives on the value of public relations to their overall business and

organisational performance (Murray and White 2004 p. 3). The report revealed that

as an industry, companies ‘under-invest massively in public relations’. Many CEOs

interviewed in their study believed sufficiently in public relations that they did not

have to measure it, but if there was a measurement it would enable them to

allocate more funding to public relations. ‘Until its worth can be proved, public

relations spend will be cut in tough times along with any other discretionary spend’

(Murray and White 2004 p. 6).

The findings of this doctoral study found that 45 percent of the corporate

communication directors in the Australian higher education sector had experienced

a decrease in their office budget funding over the past year. In the higher education

sector’s tightening fiscal environment, funding for public relations activities will be

adversely scrutinised until a communication measurement is found to show its value

to the university Vice-Chancellors.

My study further supports the work of Professor Paul Argenti who says that

advertising value equivalencies and media tracking and analysis have failed to

accurately reflect the value of strategic communication (Argenti 2005).

The majority of survey respondents in this study identified that all too often the real

value of the public relations professionals’ work is vastly under-counted. It was

252 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

further articulated that the effect of our advice, service and content is under-

represented in year-end reviews, and opportunities to assess the impact of public

relations activities versus other expenditures go under-recognised. Public relations

specialists must now take the next step: business leaders are seen by far as the

primary targets in advocacy for public relations and communications (Global

Alliance 2012).

Public relations professionals are under more and more pressure to measure the

results of their work. Findings from this study show that providing evidence of the

benefits and value of public relations objectives is highly important to justify

expenditure and to reach professional best practice. Media tracking and analysis,

stakeholder attitudes and advertising equivalencies remain the most popular

indicators utilised to measure the impact of public relations activities in Australian

universities, and this method is not a quantifiable measure for university leaders to

prove the ‘cost versus benefit’ equations that are required to substantiate spending

public money.

Graph 59: Current practices fail to measure reputational issues

Answer Options Response

Percent Response

Count

Return on investment 0.0 percent 0

Media tracking and analysis 87.5 percent 7

Stakeholder attitudes 62.5 percent 5

Advertising equivalencies 37.5 percent 3

What tools do you use to measure reputational issues?

253 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Results from this study evidences that there is a need to further develop the System

for piloting in the Australian university sector.

Another significant issue emerged from this survey that is beyond the scope of the

study but is relevant to best practice and should be considered. It was identified

that there is a problem with terminology when discussing public relations and

strategic communication. When we talk about public relations, people think of

media, and it has been demonstrated that most directors are more comfortable

talking about strategic communication. Strategic communication is the role that

facilitates relationships with all stakeholders, both inside and outside the university.

Communication professionals discussed reputation management and how

communication strategies make a meaningful contribution towards the

development of good practice principles in terms of reputation risk-management in

this study. So, in context, identifying with the role of strategic communication was

seen as an expert field of public relations, in a similar relationship to that of a

surgeon to a general practitioner. Perhaps there is an issue here for the

professional body.

From the principles taken from relevant fields of enquiry during this study, it has

been shown that measurement tools have failed to accurately reflect the value of

strategic communication. This research has determined that there is a need to

demonstrate the value of work undertaken by Australian university corporate

communication offices. Through developing a more strategic public relations focus,

universities will be able to take a leading communication role with their internal and

external stakeholders because they will have knowledge of the perceptions of each

stakeholder group.

254 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

RECOMMENDATION

It was evidenced in this research that placing an acceptable measure on public

relations objectives within Australian universities was the most important issue in

proving credibility in the overall organisational structure. Effective measurement

will assist in achieving budgetary support to attain best practice outcomes. This

study has shown that the impact of public relations work, like that of other

professions, needs to identify a value of measurement, not on output, but actual

outcomes, and the value of our service must be expressible in the precise

terminology of our core business. As elements of public relations activity move

from a central focus consumed with only media relations into the more definable

area of strategic communication, measurement needs have changed from

demonstrating outputs to outcomes. In times of organisational crisis where

communication management is vital to uphold a university’s reputation, some

potential measurement models have been suggested, but no consensus has been

made on an acceptable standard. The race is on among industry players and

academics to define the measurement model for the information age. Developing a

measureable value for strategic communication acknowledges a higher

understanding of the profession, because we will have the capability of analysing

our communication outcomes.

255 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

6.7 CONCLUSION

This study set out to explore the current strategic communication initiatives

deployed by Australian regional and metropolitan universities to understand if a

system that measures strategic communication actions was necessary for Vice-

Chancellors’ to appreciate the value of public relations to their overall business

initiatives. Primary and secondary sources were used in this study. For the primary

data, a survey was conducted to gain understanding or opinions of a general

population through the use of a representative sample. As with all data, analysis

and interpretation was required to bring understanding to the responses.

The System’s measuring indicator for communication appeared of strategic

importance, but it was also fundamental to examine secondary resources derived

from various publications, including books and journals, to explore the System’s

relevance to the sector in a bid to understand if the concept reached beyond

exemplars suggested in current literature.

A number of key issues and themes emerged during the study. Based on the results

of the survey, there is a growing appreciation of how public relations has changed

over the years, from a promotional and publicity function to one which is able to

provide strategic benefit to the overall business objectives of a university, but there

is still room for improvement. As universities are working in a more complex,

transparent and difficult operating environment, the counsel of excellent

communication directors is valued in seeking solutions to communication and

reputational challenges. Inclusion on high-level committees, either as members or

observers, would assist communication directors to contribute further to

organisational strategy, as filtered information impacts on functionality and

effectiveness.

It is understood that Vice-Chancellors are generally quite clear about the roles and

responsibilities of public relations professionals, but activities vary considerably

when the roles of marketing and communication professionals are linked into one

university department. When the two professions are combined into one area the

256 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

directors are more concerned with media and promotion rather than with the

strategic communication initiatives of their peers who work independently from the

marketing area to define the business environment. As indicated from several

survey responses in this study, similarly universities are guilty of blurring the terms

of reputation and brand. In marketing, we create a university brand; in public

relations we earn a reputation (Armanto 2013).

Vice-Chancellors are more commonly recognisant of issues management

responsibilities, with an acute understanding of how strategic communication

impacts on the reputational awareness and activities of the University.

Respondents agree that public relations in itself cannot create a university’s

reputation, but the role of communication directors is to ensure that Vice-

Chancellors communicate effectively with staff and external stakeholders, both by

coaching management into a better communications performance and by helping

to articulate messages that matter.

Respondents are quite clear that there is no single formula for measuring the real

value of public relations. The most common communication measurement tools

are media tracking analysis, stakeholder attitudes and advertising equivalencies and

literature research dictates these are not precise measurements to demonstrate

value and return-on-investment. Strategic communication is undervalued, and

resourcing for initiatives often refused in the weakening higher education fiscal

environment as entrepreneurism, and a stronger business orientation for

universities is encouraged. It was determined that an effective strategic

communication measurement would assist in achieving budgetary support and

management for best practice outcomes. Measuring the value of public relations

was declared the greatest challenge to the profession in the Australian university

sector.

257 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Appendix

Appendix A Learning Portfolio

Appendix B USQ Human Research Ethics Approval and Permission Letter

Appendix C Participant observation from interviews and discussions held with

senior management of CorProfit and with Hana Vano, KnowRisk

Senior Consultant and System Developer

258 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

APPENDIX A – Learning Portfolio

Appendix A outlines the Author’s learning portfolio in four sections: » Learning from Life Experiences; » Professional Career; » Formal Education; and » Critical Incidences.

This is a compilation of experiential learning evidence, an overview of professional practice background, and formal education to enable the reader to gain an understanding of the Author’s life experiences, work experience, and training experience.

The first section, Learning from Life Experiences, is a summary of factual and contextual information demonstrating how relevant life experiences, subsequent reflection and learning have contributed to increased knowledge.

LEARNING FROM LIFE EXPERIENCES

‘Perhaps even more central to adult learning than elaborating established meaning schemes is the process of reflecting back on prior learning to determine whether what we have learned is justified under present circumstances. This is a crucial learning process egregiously ignored by learning theorists’ (Mezirow 1990, p. 5). Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own transfer of learning to advance personal behaviours.

My parents received very little formal education and, as station managers in South West Queensland in the 1950s, they vowed to provide a better life for their children. I was born in St George, Queensland, in 1961 – the second child to Don and Jeannette Williams. When my older brother approached primary school age, the family relocated to Toowoomba, so he could begin his schooling. Moving from a very remote rural area to the city was daunting as my parents had lived their whole lives in the country. Transferring their knowledge and skill sets to support a young family in the city was initially challenging.

My father bought a taxi licence, worked long hours and became quite successful before purchasing a service station, then later a large grocery store, used car yards and a car wrecking yard.

I attended primary and secondary state schools, studying academic subjects for my high school junior certificate. My academic history was of a high standard but because of societal and family expectations, I left school in grade ten to enrol in a full-time commercial secretarial course at Training and Further Education (TAFE). On completion of this course, I worked in a dental surgery and became the practice head nurse for four dentists. I assisted new graduate dental practitioners chair-side and later commenced work chair-side for an oral surgeon. I then married and later left the world of adult employment to become a mother.

259 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

As a stay-at-home mum, I volunteered on committees for Childbirth Education, Nursing Mothers and later pre-school and school Parent and Citizen Committees. I opened a playgroup centre which is still operational today and worked with the then University College of Southern Queensland (UCSQ) lecturers to develop a six week short course of parenting lectures. During this time, I completed a TAFE course in creative writing and joined a writers’ club.

In 1988, I became involved in Little Athletics which was the beginning of a fifteen year association, volunteering on committees for the local centre, Darling Downs, South West Queensland and State in public relations roles. I assisted in the development of the Glenys Nunn Athletic Oval in Toowoomba which now hosts major athletic events. Vidal (2008) concedes that we have learned activities and tasks in our everyday life by doing them.

During this stage of life, I was diagnosed with a health condition - rheumatoid arthritis. Married with three small children and only in my late twenties, I researched the disease to develop knowledge and understanding of auto-immune disorders. I struggled to accept my situation and, after suffering bone damage for three years, a successful on-going treatment was eventually found.

A second family health issue occurred when my eldest son suffered an unexpected seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy. I listened to experts and read widely to educate myself so that I was well-informed to communicate openly and honestly with family members, teachers and others so they could understand the condition.

Through my early life, increased knowledge was gained through observing, reflecting, questioning, analysing, managing, and learning to accept the responsibility to make decisions for myself and others. I learned by doing, by making mistakes, and by working through situations. Through confronting health issues, I further learned to focus on the adversity of others: learn, understand and empathise, but look for a solution and move forward. I also learned that it is not possible to control every aspect of life.

EARLY CAREER

As mentioned briefly in the learning portfolio outline above, my working life commenced following the completion of TAFE studies. I was employed initially as a receptionist by the Margaret Street Dental Group and moved into chair-side dental nursing when a position became available. I worked in the practice for five years before becoming the practice head dental nurse for four dentists. This position assisted the new dental surgeon graduates and holiday relief dental surgeons. During this early stage of my career, I supervised staff, met with dental providers to order equipment, and conducted minor dental procedures unaided. I implemented new surgery procedures and established patient relationships which sometimes required sensitive communication skills. I then worked for two years with an oral surgeon before I married and left adult employment to begin a family.

260 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

VOLUNTEER POSITIONS

The next stage of my career was consumed with being a mother and the impact of motherhood on the outlook of life can never be overrated. To nurture my desire for learning and to keep mentally stimulated while being a mother with young children, I became involved on committees for Childbirth Education, Nursing Mothers and later pre-school and school Parent and Citizen Committees. I opened a playgroup centre and worked with the Faculty of Education lecturers at the University College of Southern Queensland (UCSQ) to develop a series of six week short courses for parents. These voluntary positions were rewarding as I liaised with new mothers and developed close friendships. I enjoyed being in a position of leadership to progress initiatives with like-minded people.

The Parents and Citizens committee positions I held with the Toowoomba East State Pre-school and the Toowoomba East State School required me to develop initiatives and write reports, which I presented to both committees. I struggled with delivering these reports initially, but over time acquired more proficient presentation skills. I also assisted in the tuckshop, classroom and with sports coaching. My organisational and presentation skills were enhanced and I learned about the role of Queensland Government and in particular, education, in the operation and funding for state schools.

I completed a creative writing course through TAFE and joined a writing group. Members wrote stories each week and these were critiqued by other colleagues. On a rotational monthly basis each member gave a book review and, upon reflection-in-action, my love of writing began during this period.

In 1988, I became involved with Queensland Little Athletics which was the beginning of a fifteen year association, working on committees for the local centre, Darling Downs, South West Queensland and State in public relations roles. I was the Public Relations Officer for the committee which identified an opportunity to develop an athletic oval in Toowoomba. Through public meetings and meetings with Council, the committee rallied support from the Toowoomba City Council (now Toowoomba Regional Council) for land in O’Quinn Street Toowoomba. When successful in attaining this rock-filled land, the committee began to plan and develop an athletic centre and clubhouse for athletes of all ages to train and compete. As this was a non-profit entity, I was responsible for writing applications to various government and non-government funding bodies for financial assistance. I was also responsible for designing and writing the annual year book, producing a monthly newsletter for parents, and keeping accurate records of athletes’ performances. The complex is now called the Glenys Nunn Athletic Oval and hosts major athletic events for the region’s Little Athletic Centres, primary and high schools and attracts economic benefits to the city of Toowoomba. I was presented with a Life Membership of the Toowoomba Central Little Athletics Centre in 2000 for dedication to and involvement in the development of athletics and, in 2002, Queensland Little Athletics recognised my service with a Merit Award.

Working voluntarily as a member for various committees and for Queensland Little Athletics was rewarding both personally and professionally. Reflection-in-action

261 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

assisted to identify skills acquired during this period by looking back on activities performed through engaging with the community and listening to alternative suggestions before making final decisions. As the proposed athletic facility was situated in a residential area, public meetings were held and media articles were published to advise the public about the proposed development of the facility. Strategies were formed to engage people by building knowledge and understanding. The public consultation was genuine, and consideration to community needs empowered people to be partners in the process. The athletic facility resulted in a positive outcome for the families living in the community and increased tourism by attracting people from outside our region to utilise the amenities.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

On completion of a six month TAFE Microsoft Office course I returned to paid employment in 1993, as a casual administration assistant for USQ Human Resources. After working for three weeks, I was offered a position in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office responsible for administration and reception duties. The major tasks performed in this position involved the maintenance of the mail register and associated systems, researching background information on issues, meeting and function organisation, and liaison with faculties, sections and external organisations.

In 1995, my reporting lines changed with added responsibilities. I commenced work with the Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Executive Officer to assist with media inquiries. For the next two years, I also became the Secretary to the Vice-Chancellor’s Committee responsible for compiling agendas and associated papers, and minuting the fortnightly meeting which included confidential items for discussion. I aided the introduction of a Central Records Facility and electronic mail registering system and provided relief for the Administration Officer responsible for the financial operations in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office.

In 1996 with the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor whose key performance indicator (KPI) was to increase USQ’s external community engagement, my position changed from administration to the University’s Planning and Functions Officer. The key responsibility of this role was to promote a positive public image of the University through the organisation of functions and events for the Vice-Chancellor in his position as Chief Executive Officer of the University. I initiated, planned, organised and coordinated internal and external events and functions involving the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and Senior Executive. In this position I developed and implemented administrative systems to support various initiatives and acted in the position of Executive and Personal Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor when required.

The responsibilities of this role expanded and, in 2000, I was appointed as the USQ Corporate Functions and Protocol Officer. Accountabilities included providing advice to University staff, across all levels, for functions, visits and events involving high-profile, national and international visitors, based on analytical assessment and evaluation, judgement and the management of sensitivities relating to personnel of

262 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

the University and external bodies. I was the first point of contact for State and Federal Government Departments, Queensland Protocol Department, Embassies, Consulates, International Agencies and international visitors, and provided direction on correct University procedures and policy.

To ensure a professional image of the University was portrayed to external stakeholders, I identified the need to formalise event processes to assist University staff across the campuses in organising events. I wrote and implemented the University Protocol Policy which provided guidelines and approval processes for a tiered level of events from Government Ministerial visits to business lunches. To further improve processes, I then developed the USQ Events Calendar on Share-point to assist with the planning of events so multiple functions were not scheduled at the University on the same day. I administered this site and approved entries across all campuses to be viewed on the calendar.

I initiated and wrote the Risk Management Plan for Events so liability for negligence would not be passed on to staff responsible for the organisation of an event. This process was embedded into all areas of USQ’s event planning to protect staff and the University if an unforeseeable risk eventuated during the course of an event. To augment the new procedures, I conducted training sessions for staff through the University’s staff training and development program.

I undertook the development of these procedures to improve efficiencies and to increase staff knowledge of organisational event management. I learned how to write policy documents and develop improved systems. On reflection, my presentation skills were amateurish. I thought I needed to be authoritative on the subject matter but the real me seems to go over much better than the one who feigned being the expert on event management.

My delivery of staff training and presentation skills was a learning experience during this period, and one that with reflection-on-action provided an opportunity to improve my performance to communicate information and ideas in a more effective way. Public speaking skills do not come naturally to me but through training and practice I have improved and am now able to conduct a presentation that is interesting and holds the attention of an audience.

To provide context to the responsibilities of the position of USQ’s Corporate Functions and Protocol Officer, I have outlined below two major events I coordinated. Following these examples, I will reflect on these experiences to critically self-reflect and evaluate learning outcomes.

The State Funeral for RM Williams was held at the USQ Clive Berghofer Centre in November 2003. I worked with the Director of the Premier’s Protocol Office to meet with family members at Burstow’s Funeral Chapel to discuss the formalities and arrangements for the funeral. Once family wishes were known, I worked with Queensland Protocol to organise and coordinate all levels of USQ’s involvement. The funeral was attended by over 1300 people and was televised nationally. The Acting Prime Minister, Hon. John Anderson, Premier of Queensland, Hon. Peter

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Beattie and State Ministers joined family and friends for the iconic bushman’s farewell. At the end of the service, a symbolic riderless horse was led into the centre, and the casket - bearing RM's saddle blanket, riding whip and favourite Akubra - was carried outside. There, it was placed on an antique Williams’ cart that was drawn by a single horse. The cart was joined in procession to the private family service by four mounted police and more than 30 outriders from local trail-riding clubs, each carrying an Australian flag.

My role in the organisation of the State Funeral was as the point of contact for USQ. This required close liaison with the family, Premier’s Protocol Office, Federal police, and local, state and national media to ensure the University Vice-Chancellor and staff were aware of happenings. I coordinated staff across all levels of the University to contribute with the logistics of multiple undertakings such as: accessing and installing a media satellite; fencing off an area for the horses; preparing the stage and auditorium seating; organising audio equipment and television screens; providing advice and detailed campus maps to police and VIPs; risk management with health and safety procedures controlled; reserved vehicular parking areas – all in all the set-up, clean-up and event shut-down.

The second event selected to demonstrate performance in this role was a complex project. USQ celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2007 and I was tasked to research, plan and organise a dinner to acknowledge the University’s Founders. The formal gala dinner was the first event scheduled to celebrate USQ’s 40th Anniversary in February 2007. The aim of the event was to recognise and pay respect to the Founders of the University. People from all walks of life who contributed to the development of the institution more than forty years ago were to be honoured. I was given a budget with limits to a venue capacity of 300 dignitaries.

There were very few historical records dating back 40 years to assist with formulating a guest list, largely due to a fire in the USQ Administration building during the 1970s which destroyed many early documents. The task of compiling an invitation list, limited to 300 guests, was the biggest challenge.

I interviewed retired staff members and members of the original Darling Downs University Establishment Committee and their families to create an initial draft guest list. Further research was then required to determine addresses of other Founders and, if deceased, to find immediate family members. While gathering this information, I simultaneously formed and led a working party of external contractors to assist with the operational side of the evening. Entertainment during the evening required stage management expertise to support three student pen portraits telling the story of USQ’s history, musical ensembles, a renowned past student who performed a melody of songs, a guest speaker and professional sound and lighting experts.

Video interviews were conducted with several Founders and these now form part of the University’s archives. My research uncovered historical information which had been, at the time, lost to USQ, but the list was deficient in delivering complete

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knowledge due to the complexity of the task. Further research is needed to achieve a more comprehensive and accurate register of the University Founders.

In both these examples, complex planning and organisation skills were required to lead a team of internal and external staff, including students. Moving the learning from the ‘informal and incidental’ as described by Marsick and Watkins (2001), to a higher structured approach involving both intervention and critical reflection enabled me to recognise that my work was driven by the effective and timely delivery of projects. I undervalued the merit of developing a conceptual framework and project scope around the foundations created by the USQ Strategic Plan goal of community engagement. A conceptual framework would have provided a logical sequence to consider the relationships between a number of enterprise elements typically present in a large corporate entity and, as such, would have provided a useful model for future projects of this nature.

In my current position as the Associate Director, I report to the Director of the Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations and am responsible for defining the communication procedures and plans for all major corporate communication strategies, maintaining and improving reputational awareness and corporate image, and coordinating and bringing together internal stakeholders through change management activities. To accomplish this, I research, develop and initiate high level communication projects and manage public relations projects. Qualitative research through focus groups of internal and external stakeholders provides an insight into stakeholder group perceptions of USQ, and as a communication professional I work closely with key internal and external stakeholders to scope process improvement initiatives and define public relations strategies and actions to implement across the University’s core business units.

In association with the Director of the Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations, I organise and facilitate focus groups. I summarise findings and work jointly with the Director to formulate USQ’s internal and external strategic communication plans. These documents outline issues and communication responses. I have implemented a series of communication tools and tactics in response to the issues raised by the University’s stakeholders. Some of these include providing senior management with key messages about perceived stakeholder issues, and conducting television studio interviews with senior executive as an avenue of providing information to staff. As a direct result of focus group research conducted with staff, the UR USQ staff forums have also commenced on a regular basis. UR USQ staff forums is a platform where all members of the University are invited to hear the Vice-Chancellor talk about objectives/issues facing the University, and staff are encouraged to ask questions either through a confidential email channel or openly from the floor. The presentation is streamed live to all campuses and is videoed and sent via email to all staff following the address.

In response to focus group feedback, a variety of measures are also being concentrated on for our external audience. The media officers are producing stories on events, staff profiles, University initiatives, business activities, research accomplishments, and our learning and teaching areas as part of USQ’s

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communication responses. Another new initiative I am responsible for is the Toowoomba Chronicle column, From the Vice-Chancellor’s Desk. The aim of this regular column is to increase the Vice-Chancellor’s profile, to maintain community engagement and create stronger media relationships. I write the articles that give an overview of public events at USQ and inform audiences about happenings at USQ.

I have also researched, developed and initiated communication projects for graduation ceremonies, Honorary Award recipients, Human Resources, the School of Law, Digital Futures, the Office of Research, the Faculty of Education, and the Faculty of Engineering and Surveying. With the Director of Corporate Communication and Public Relations, I have worked to develop relationships with media at the Toowoomba Chronicle, Fraser Coast Chronicle, Queensland Times, and our regional newspapers, The Australian Higher Education Supplement, Campus Review and the Financial Review to have USQ featured more regularly.

As part of my position, I am required to research and write the Vice-Chancellor’s graduation speeches and Honorary Award recipient citations. With USQ conducting 12 graduation ceremonies per year, this activity is ongoing. I also regularly draft correspondence for the Vice-Chancellor for both internal and external mediums.

I have responsibility for chairing an Annual Report review meeting with all internal stakeholders to ascertain ways to improve USQ’s Annual Report and possibly reformat the publications – for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions. The Annual Report will now become a year-long project. Committee approval processes and dates will become part of the procedure in managing the timeframes.

The position delivers advice that has a critical and strategic impact on the University’s reputation, in addition to providing comprehensive guidance to executive management in the absence of the Director. I work with executive managers and am a key reference point for leadership on matters involving communication and public relations at USQ.

Through my work experiences I have gained knowledge and skills in the following areas:

Project management;

Research;

Facilitation;

Leadership skills;

Assuming responsibility

Informed decision making;

Advanced communication skills;

Conceptualising values;

Recognising own abilities and limitations;

Self-reliance; and

Resilience.

266 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

Much of my experiential learning detailed in this section led me to formalise my qualifications through tertiary study. In section 2.3, I detail my formal educational qualifications and link it with my overall career and personal development. These three elements – experiential learning, career and personal development, and formal education - form the basis of my learning portfolio. At the end of this section I will then outline the critical incidences experienced during my role in the Office of Corporate Communication which guided me to undertake this doctoral study.

FORMAL EDUCATION

Systems of schooling which involve institutionalised teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum is known as formal education as opposed to Learning through Life Experiences and Experiential Learning, or learning on the job. The primary focus of this section is to provide a summary of my formal educational qualifications.

I successfully completed academic subjects for my Junior Certificate (English, German, Advanced Mathematics, Science and Home Economics) but for societal and family reasons I left school in 1975 at the end of Grade 10 and enrolled in a 12 month full-time Office Training Course at TAFE. I was offered and accepted the position of Commercial Course Captain by Mr Bernie O’Kane, the Campus Director.

Married with a young family, I returned to study in 1991 to successfully complete the USQ Access and Equity Course with a cumulative GPA of 6.0. The Course provides students who did not complete grade 12 with an entry pathway into university. On completion of this course, I enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary), but in January 1992 on the day I received my acceptance letter to USQ, my husband’s place of employment announced it was in receivership. For financial reasons, I deferred my university study to return to the workforce.

To increase my employment opportunities, I returned to TAFE in 1993 to study a Certificate of Commercial and Office Fundamentals and was then employed by the University of Southern Queensland as an administration assistant.

I completed several short development courses through my workplace such as Indispensable Secretary and Administration Officer, Writing Effectively and Interpersonal Communication Skills which were acknowledged with a Certificate of VETEC accreditation. I also completed an intensive course on Event Project Management which was conducted by the University of Sydney.

In 2001, I enrolled in the Certificate of Public Relations and after completing two units of study I was transferred into the Graduate Diploma of Professional Communication before completing a Master of Public Relations (MPubRel) in 2008. The aim of the post-graduate degree as espoused by USQ is to produce graduates employable to:-

» demonstrate an informed and rational understanding of salient contemporary issues in corporate communication;

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» pursue a scholarly and informed study, to a publishable standard, of the relevance of corporate communication to aspects of organisational communication including strategic planning, risk management and management behaviour;

» employ public relations communication theory to design and implement field research in a range of contemporary issues and problems in all aspects of corporate communication;

» select and apply appropriate and professionally sound communication principles into the design and practice of corporate communication; and

» provide best practices in planning and organisation to corporate public relations (USQ Programs and Courses 2014).

During my postgraduate studies, I developed an insight into how theory can be applied to improve communication practice. The course covered aspects of the management of strategic communication and I developed a strong belief that communication practice needed to evolve away from a media-savvy tactical focus on press, publicity and information provision to a business-savvy focus on relationship management and organisational positioning. I became an advocate to the growing demand that universities could better manage their stakeholder relationships through innovative strategic communication.

While studying the Master of Public Relations I learned to question, think and concentrate more on the facets of the public relations profession and, during this time, I formed an affinity for strategic communication and the benefits of effective community engagement.

I graduated from the Master of Public Relations with a 6.6 GPA and was invited to become a Member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. Golden Key is the world’s premier collegiate honour society, recognising outstanding academic achievement and connecting high-achieving individuals locally, regionally and globally. Membership into the Society applies to the top 15 percent of college and university sophomores, as well as top-performing students in all fields of study, based solely on academic achievements. The question of finding a definable strategic communication measurement though was still sought.

In April 2011 I completed additional study in an advanced Black Belt Program in Internal Communication through Melcrum Pty Ltd, the world-leading professional development program for internal communicators. I further grasped key concepts, tools and techniques to understand stakeholders’ needs and what it takes to develop and execute a strategic internal communication plan.

One of the University’s stated staff goals is to attract and retain employees who exemplify USQ's values and provide them with opportunities to succeed personally, professionally and organisationally (USQ Human Resources 2014). Through this goal it is recognised that our people are our greatest asset and the future success of USQ is dependent on attracting and retaining people who support its aims and aspirations (USQ Human Resources 2014). In 2011, data showed that women were under-represented at senior levels within the University so, to address this issue,

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the University introduced a Future Leaders Program which was designed for women in leadership roles.

In July 2011, I participated in the inaugural Future Leaders Program for Women at USQ. The program was offered to twelve women and tailored over a five month period to meet personal and corporate leadership needs. The program aimed to meet key development priorities for women to gain valuable exposure and experience to progress a unique leadership journey at USQ. The key objectives of the Program were to:-

• Assist women to extend their skills, knowledge and self-confidence to become more proactive in seeking opportunities for advancement;

• Support women in identifying personal goals and developing plans/pathways to achieve them;

• Broaden knowledge and understanding of USQ, including the University’s structure, decision making practices, policies and organisational culture;

• Enhance the ability to access and develop strong networks for collaboration across the university; and

• Provide a supportive environment for women to explore issues and share experiences in the workplace.

There have been numerous dimensions to my learnings and professional development. I have grown and changed as a person through life experiences, experiential learning and formal education. I am no longer afraid to fail; it’s one of the key experiences to learning and growing knowledge. To summarise:

• I will listen to others, but in areas where I have some understanding, I am more likely to access my prior knowledge;

• I am more responsive to finding meaningful solutions to challenges;

• The need to produce forces me to act;

• I have increased self-confidence and self-reliance because I have knowledge of my strengths and weaknesses;

• I am motivated to be active not passive;

• My conceptions of knowledge have changed which in turn has implications for cognitive development;

• The most enjoyable working environment is learning to work on tasks with other people of different backgrounds, attitudes and expertise; and

• I learn so much more by observing others.

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Two critical incidences generated significant and powerful learning experiences and demonstrate the reason for undertaking this doctoral study. The experiences defined my professional career in terms of intrinsic skills, traits and opportunities’ and making decisions at key learning stages has formed my pathway in the public relations field of organisational strategic communication measurement.

As mentioned, on completion of the Master of Public Relations in 2008, Vice-Chancellor Professor Bill Lovegrove invited me to fill a position in the Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations. I accepted the secondment position of Corporate Communication Project Officer in February 2009 and then applied, and was successful, in attaining the permanent position of Senior Public Relations Coordinator in December 2009, and in 2014 became the Associate Director (Corporate Communication and Public Relations).

My awareness of and curiosity for strategic communication measurement was formed during my Masters study and accelerated while working in the Office of Corporate Communication and Public Relations. To provide context to the reason for this study, I focus more comprehensively on the Case Study mentioned in Chapter One which kindled my interest in finding some sort of measurement which would show the value for my chosen profession in strategic communication.

Teaching and learning are interdependent processes. While writing this portfolio a deeper understanding and appreciation was gained of key influencers who were critical in providing opportunities and learning experiences. As stated by the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius ‘tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand’ (Wikipedia 2011).

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Training for the workplace continues to be designed and delivered almost exclusively to meet organisational needs. However, experiential learning/training which develops knowledge and skills through hands-on experience creates an opportunity for valuable and memorable personal learning. According to Kolb (1984), experiential learning is a process in which knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Specht and Sandlin (1991) explain that experiential learning focuses on ‘doing’ in addition to the ‘hearing’ and ‘seeing’ that occur in traditional learning.

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APPENDIX B – USQ Human Research Ethics Approval and Permission Letter

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OFFICE OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Ms Judy Halter

Senior Public Relations Coordinator University of Southern Queensland PHONE +61 7 4631 2092

EMAIL judy.halter@usq.edu.au Dear [blank] Re: Permission to survey Director of Corporate Communication and Public Relations

I am writing to ask permission to conduct research at our university for a study entitled Strategic Communication Issues System, which has been given ethical clearance under reference H12REA216. I am conducting this research, from the University of Southern Queensland, as part of my

Doctorate of Professional Studies. The study has been approved by the University of

Southern Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee and, as part of that approval process, it is a requirement to obtain gatekeeper permission to invite the [blank], to participate in an online survey questionnaire. While the value of a university’s stakeholder perceptions is becoming increasingly respected, how to measure such perceptions has been a concern for many who work in

the area of strategic communications in higher education. I have developed the Strategic Communication Issues System at the University of Southern Queensland and preliminary work indicates that these perceptions can be measured quantitatively and such measures might provide an effective way for senior university executives to prove the value of strategic communication. The purpose of this research is to refine the measurement of stakeholder perceptions in order to gain a better understanding of how the application of communication strategies might help a university maximise its profile in the community

through transparent and open communication, while minimising potential reputational risk. The overall goal is to develop an understanding of how a Strategic Issues

Communications System, that measures the benefit of strategic communication, may influence and enhance the work of the communication profession. Preliminary work

indicates that the measureable component of the Strategic Communication Issues System is an effective way of showing senior university executives the value of strategic communication. If approval is granted, a letter of invitation and consent form will be sent to the [Blank], to participate in the online survey questionnaire. It is estimated the survey will take an estimated 30 minutes to complete.

If the University of Southern Queensland is willing to be involved, would you please sign the form below that acknowledges you have read the explanatory statement, you understand the nature of the study being conducted, and you give permission for the research to be conducted at your university. Thank you in anticipation

Yours sincerely

Judy Halter Senior Public Relations Coordinator ______________________________________________________________________

Name _____________________________ Title_______________________________, having been fully informed as to the nature of the research to be conducted in Strategic Communication Issues System, give permission for the study to be conducted. I reserve the right to withdraw this permission at anytime. Signature __________________________Date ______________________________

272 ©2015 Judith M Halter – All rights reserved

APPENDIX C Participant observation from interviews and discussions held with

senior management of CorProfit and with Hana Vano, KnowRisk

Senior Consultant and System Developer.

Note: Participant Observation is an acknowledged research methodology used mostly for qualitative research. In this instance it involves a range of well-defined, though variable methods: informal interviews, direct observation, participation with management, collective discussions, analyses of personal documents produced and results from activities undertaken off or online.

The research method has allowed the author to obtain more detailed and accurate information under study.

Question one:

Please give me a brief summary of the industry accepted and standard AS/NZA 4360 Risk Assessment criteria.

Standards Australia moved away from being prescriptive, as they found that some were treating the risk criteria in the AS/NZA 4360 as ‘the bible’. The Standard leaves it to the industry to determine what the most appropriate Risk Criteria is. It is evidenced from actual use in the field. KnowRisk – The System is a tool that brings out this Risk Criteria and how industry can apply it in the Risk Process.

Well proven Risk Criteria is supported as a forerunner from the insurance industry. The insurance industry was a strong voice in the publishing of AS/NZA 4360 Standard. We at CorProfit have built on this to measure how effective Risk Management is. Unlike traditional risk management where individual risk categories are separately managed in risk ‘silos’, Risk Management (RM) enables firms to manage a wide array of risks in an integrated, holistic fashion. Proponents argue that RM benefits firms by decreasing volatility, reducing external capital costs, increasing capital efficiency, and creating synergies between different risk management activities. More generally, RM is said to promote increased risk management awareness that translates into better operational and strategic decision-making.

Risk Management concerns measuring bigger risks from smaller risks and likewise how to focus on the most significant areas of concern, whether set at strategic or operations levels. This is achieved by defining Risk Management criteria that distinguish the level of risk to the company (definitions of the terms used would be given elsewhere). These Criteria include the following:

• Likelihood of the risk, which reflects the chance of a risk occurring;

• Consequence, defines the actual impact that would occur;

• Risk rating or risk score is the exposure that is calculated when combining the likelihood and consequence; and

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• Effectiveness of controls, the residual level of risk that the company will be exposed to is in proportion to the level of uncontrolled or inherent risk and effectiveness of controls to reduce the risk.

Each of the above criteria has a range of values that may be expressed in either subjective values or quantitative amounts. They are applied in the Risk Process to measure risks and when a list of risks is analyzed in a context such as communications, the risks can be compared and ranked relative to each other. The objective is to measure the extent to which specific firms have implemented risk management programs and, then, to assess the value implications of these programs.

Question two:

The owners and executive of KnowRisk are well qualified people in the area of risk management. Can you give me a brief summary of their feedback to the communication measurement model?

The Communication Measurement model as proposed in this study has been carefully thought through and has additional value as it is a derivative of the AS/NZA 4360 Risk Process. The design of the communication measurement model is original and can be applied to any organisation or industry. The purpose of managing communication risks can follow as a natural part of day-to-day work of communication around the university, while at a risk framework level the communication risks can be shown together with other risk types. Senior management will have a consistent way to see which risk types have the potential to derail meeting corporate and research objectives.

While the individual advantages of different risk management activities are clear, there are disadvantages to the traditional “silo” approach to risk management. Managing each risk class in a separate silo creates inefficiencies due to lack of coordination between the various risk management departments. By integrating decision making across all risk areas, organisations are able to avoid duplication of risk management activities. This provides them with a more objective basis for resource allocation, thus improving efficiency.

While individual risk management activities may reduce volatility by reducing the probability of losses, there are potential interdependencies between risks across activities that might go unnoticed in the traditional risk management model. The System provides a structure that combines all risk management activities into one integrated framework that facilitates the identification of such interdependencies. Thus, while individual risk management activities can reduce volatility the proposed System reduces volatility by preventing aggregation of risk across different sources. A further source of value arises due to improved information about the firm’s risk profile. Outsiders are more likely to have difficulty in assessing the strength and risk profile of organisations that are highly financially and operationally complex. The proposed System enables organisations to better inform outsiders of their risk profile and also serves as a signal of their commitment to risk management. By

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improving risk management disclosure, the proposed System is likely to reduce the expected costs of regulatory scrutiny and external capital.

What executive management and directors need to consider when evaluating the best way to implement risk management is essentially process, integration, culture and infrastructure. The proposed System helps define such issues by application, operating standards and functions as well as risk profiles that vary in complexity across organisations.

Like any other worthwhile business activity, the proposed System develops a process with a clear purpose, reliable inputs, well-designed activities and value-added outputs. The risk management process typically includes such activities as the identification, sourcing, measurement, evaluation, mitigation and monitoring of risk.

A well-articulated process view of risk management provides a benchmark for organisations to help them formulate strategies, tactics and processes that are responsive to individual needs.

Question three:

How does the System automatically calculate the residual risk rating for each stakeholder issue?

There are many formulae employed by KnowRisk to calculate reference fields with similar fields calculated in different ways depending on the state in which the data is mined at the time the calculation is performed.

The inherent functionality of the process on which the proposed System is based allows Likelihood and Consequence values to be assessed (from the tables of each, i.e. from the criteria) without considering controls (even if they exist) to determine the worst-case levels of risk, and then associates the appropriate controls to mitigate the risks and consequences.

The user self-selects how effective the existing Controls might be, after which the residual levels of risk are calculated from assessing the effectiveness of the controls. Shown in this diagram.

Some might say it is difficult to assess Inherent Risk since there are always controls in place. But what if the controls failed – these will give an Inherent Risk.

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The backend of the proposed System is fundamental to the KnowRisk product that also allows users to ignore the Inherent Risk, and examine the Existing Controls and assess how effective they are. Based on this the Residual Likelihood and Residual Consequence can be set manually. KnowRisk calculates the Inherent values (in the opposite way to the Residual mode, even if there are not visible.

When users are sufficiently familiar with using the Risk Process, they can expand the calculations and the inbuilt functionality of KnowRisk is integral to any continued support.

Question four:

We know that positive feedback on the communication measurement model has been received from the researcher’s conference presentations and the KnowRisk presentation conducted in Sydney to the international members of the KnowRisk organisation. Have you been approached from universities or organisations to demonstrate the System? If so, what was their feedback?

To date our work provides some initial evidence on the value-relevance of the System for corporate entities. One of the major challenges facing us is how to identify organisations that engage in risk management. Although some detailed study and anecdotal feedback has been used to distinguish risk management users and non-users we find risk management usage to be positively related to firm size, diversification, and institutional ownership.

Our findings with respect to several other variables are also of interest. The positive relation between risk management and the proposed System reflects market expectations of greater growth opportunities that exist outside Australia. Our analysis provides a starting point for additional research into the proposed System.

While discussions are confidential with our client it can be said that the assessment process identifies and prioritises a company’s risks, providing quality inputs to decision makers for the purpose of formulating effective risk responses including information about the current state of capabilities around managing the priority risks. Effectively applied using business strategy as a context, risk assessment considers such attributes as impact, likelihood, velocity and persistence. Our discussions with others have shown that once priority risks are identified, the proposed System can trace issues to their root causes. If management understands the drivers of risk, it is easier to design risk metrics and proactive risk responses at the source.

Because not all risks are quantifiable, increasing transparency by developing quantitative and qualitative risk measures is a necessity. For many organisations with whom discussions have been held measurement methodologies may be simple and basic, e.g., risk rating or scoring and tracking key variables relating to an identified exposure. More complex methodologies for companies are needed with more advanced capabilities that might include a risk-adjusted performance measurement – something that the proposed System provides.

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Based on discussions organisations have shown that there is a need to better determine identified risks, their drivers or root causes and their susceptibility to measurement. Depending on the risk response selected, management identifies any gaps in risk management capabilities and improves those capabilities as necessary to implement the risk response. Organisations are suggesting that over time, the effectiveness of risk mitigation activities need to be monitored.

What is apparent is that the proposed System models, provides risk analytics and other functionality to make it possible to aggregate information about risks using common data elements to support the creation of a risk management dashboard or scorecard for use by risk owners, unit managers and executive management.

Management is asking for dashboard and scorecard reporting and the proposed System is flexible enough to enable the design of reports to address specific needs, including reporting to the board of directors. Examples of dashboard reporting, which often features “heat maps” or “traffic light” indicators, are provided in proposed System.

Anecdotal feedback has suggested that the purpose of the risk management process varies from company to company, e.g., reduce risk or performance variability to an acceptable level, prevent unwanted surprises, facilitate taking more risk in the pursuit of value creation opportunities, etc. Regardless of purpose, the good news is that the proposed System provides management with a risk management process that is readily available so that organisations can adopt a process view that best fits their circumstances.

Question five:

From your discussions with other KnowRisk users what would you consider to be among their top ten reputation risks impacting on organisations today?

In a university context, some of the top risks are:

Description

Breach of site security to promote social or political causes that are divisive or result in damage to property and or injury to staff, students or the public

Student information can be accessed and used for personal gain.

Students react adversely to complaint handling processes

Sudden departure of key staff and the lack of planning for replacement of staff (leading to loss of research funding)

The forecast of the trend of the market demand for education courses is too high or there is not enough enrolment to make it viable

Unauthorised security breach in IT system that should have been avoided, compromising e.g. examinations and enrolments

Freezers lose power (e.g. someone disconnects the power without knowing) and longer term research material is destroyed.

Fraudulent activity e.g. purchasing staff buy items in a company they have interests in and on-sell to the university and make a secret profit (subsequently get found out)

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Description

Whistle blower says research funds not properly utilized for the purposes intended and

Poor definition of corporate objectives that results in a misalignment of the university strategic plan from market trends and results in losing students to the competition

There are of course other risks that sheet back to a university being given adverse coverage in the media.

Question six:

Any other comments you would like to make about the system?

KnowRisk stands out uniquely for having a very well thought through Knowledge Base module, which the proposed System leverages to great effect.

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